Alfresco of The Lalit Great Eastern Kolkata

Kolkata’s culinary cauldron

If you just love luxury dining from the bygone British era and you’re on a visit to Kolkata, then do not forget to step into Alfresco, the all-day plush dining outlet of The Lalit Great Eastern Kolkata tucked on Old Court House Street in the city. Mouth-watering dishes, colourful desserts, heart-warming hospitality, soothing decor and picture-perfect ambience are some of the phrases best used to describe the multi-cuisine outlet. Opened sometime on Bengali New Year’s Day in 2014, the food outlet has two private dining areas with a total seating capacity of 80 and is based on the concept of “Four Pillars of Kolkata Cuisine” including Tangra Chinese ( a blend of Chinese and Bengali fare), Bengali ( inclusive of West Bengal and Bangladesh), Nawabi (Awadhi delights) and Anglo-Indian cuisine. When the opportunity of dining at Alfresco arrived for me, I was literally on the cloud nine.

The restaurant in the lobby overlooks the Lily Pond flaunting swaying palm trees and the interiors of the food outlet sport white outlook with glass ceiling. Food connoisseurs can tuck into their favourite dishes enjoying the views of Lily Pond. To start with, there are three live counters- Street food, regional and dessert counters. There are separate counters for fruit juice, cheese, fruits, starters from Western countries, bakery and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Raita and Chaat. In fact, the hospitality group lives up to its expectations with its stunning variety of one-of-a-kind, in-house bakery stuff rustled up at its renowned outlet- The Bakery that began way, way back in 1830 during Colonial times. There is a separate vegetarian and non-vegetarian counter. Alfresco happens to be the only luxury food outlet that serves alcoholic beverages all round the day.

Colourful desserts on offer at Alfresco

  I began with the regional counter and picked up Appam with stew and chutney and moved on to the street food counter that had delectable Golgappas. I moved on to the mains with Kaju Kismis ka Pulao and relished it with Dal Baluchi- the signature creation of the restaurant prepared with a blend of black lentils, ginger, garlic simmered overnight on charcoal fire and done up with cream and butter. I relished the spicy Aloo Hing Dhaniya Chatpata and Bhuna Makkai aur Aloo (corn dumplings dipped in yoghurt gravy) that were quite heavy on the stomach. 

                                        

                                     Aloo Hing Dhaniya Chatpata

                                            Bhuna Makkai aurAloo

Another platter that I savoured was Spinach and Ricotta Malfatti with spicy tomato coulis (an Italian delicacy comprising tender dumplings prepared from ricotta, spinach and served in spicy tomato sauce). Non-vegetarians can settle for Meen Moille (fish rustled up in Malayali style) or Kolkata style Chicken Biryani. For lovers of Anglo-Indian cuisine, there is Railway Mutton Curry. There is a carving station with fish or chicken platter.

 Baigan Barishal

There is no better way to finish off the meal than to go for lip-smacking Continental desserts and the outlet serves 10 kinds of desserts inclusive of Indian and Continental. One can go for Coconut Rice Pudding that is eggless and free from sugar.  I opted for the Continental desserts that include Eclairs, Chocolate Tart with Hazzlenut and White Chocolate with Raspberry delight.

Eclairs

Cheese cake

Coconut rice pudding

Lastly, there are eight kinds of ice-creams on offer including vanilla, mango, chocolate, butterscotch, strawberry, pistachio and tuty fruity and I settled for chocolate ice cream. Some of the must-things to try here are Dal Baluchi, Bhune Makkai aur Aloo, Aloo Hing Dhaniya Chatpate and Railway Mutton Curry. A buffet lunch for two person would come for Rs 3,100 exclusive of all taxes.

Jammu

A peek into mountain destination of Jammu

An ancient Himalayan hill resort that is more rooted in the world of sacred Hindu shrines, caves, palaces and forts is arguably Jammu. The mountain destination is the ideal place to experience the best of Dogri culture. The state of Jammu and Kashmir has been a celebrated tourist destination but the city of Jammu to a large extent, remains unexplored by tourists. In contemporary times, Jammu is a great getaway from our high-pressure lifestyle.

I couldn’t make it to Jammu during my earlier visit to the state but in the aftermath of Vaishno Devi sojourn, it was time for us to discover the pilgrim treasures of the Himalayan town. Lying on the banks of the meandering river Tawi, the city is bubbling with teeming population and has a potted history of its own. Most of the Himalayan hill resorts like Shimla, Mussoorie, Ranikhet and Nainital are British in origin but Jammu has a vibrant religious life and has been the discovery of the Dogra ruler, Maharaja Gulab Singh. The city has an amiable gathering of Dogras, Punjabis and Kashmiris.  

For discerning tourists with a passion to visit age-old shrines steeped in mythology, do visit Jammu. We began with New Shiva Classic temple that took shape in 1992 and exhibits glittering mirror-spangled work at its interiors. The shrine houses lord Shiva and Parvati and has a centrally-placed Shiva-Lingam. One of the most popular shrine complexes in the city hub is Raghunath temple that has a number of shrines in the complex and is among the front-ranking temple complex in North India. The interiors display a whole range of Hindu pantheons from lesser-known to popular Gods. The shrine complex has an accommodating capacity of around 24 lakh devotees during the time of “Mahayagya”.

New Shiva Classic temple

From here, we took the winding road leading downwards to reach the Jamavant Peer Kho cave shrine overlooking river Tawi, around 3.5 km from the city. Popular as Yama cave, there are a number of shrines underground that would blow the tourists away.  Besides, honouring the nine forms of Goddess Durga, the principal deity of the shrine is Lord Jamavant and the cave has the natural Shiva Lingam. We received nuggets of info from the priest of the cave shrine well-versed with Hindu mythology and serves as a local guide.

A visit to the Amar Mahal Palace and Museum, a one-time seat of Dogra rulers is essential. The palace is in the form of a French castle with sloping roofs and provides panoramic views of the river Tawi with dark shadows of the mountain at a distance. The adorned palace was thrown open for public in 1975 and has been transformed into a museum of modern times. There is a library with books and antique paintings. The museum shares a strong historic association of regal times and provides glimpses of Pahari School of paintings illustrating the epic, “Nala Damayanti.” We had a glance at the genealogy of the Dogra rulers of Jammu and their dynasty and the Rajput rulers of Udaipur as well.

One should not leave out Ranbireshwar temple tucked near the New Secretariat. Set up in 1883 A.D, the shrine has been conceptualized by Maharaja Ranbir Singh. Known as the abode of Lord Shiva, the shrine has a centrally-placed Lingam measuring 7.5 feet high with 12 crystal Lingams. The shrine has galleries with thousands of Shivalingams crafted in stone.

Ranbireshwar temple

The legendary 3000-year-old imposing fort of Jammu- Bagh-e-Bahu is encircled with terraced gardens amidst cascading waterfalls. The creation of Raja Bahulochan, history says that the fort emerged in limelight after the coronation of Maharaja Gulb Singh. It lies on an upland plateau overlooking river Tawi. The reigning deity of the fort is Bhabe Wali Mata, a hallowed pilgrim site for thousands of devotees. 

Before retiring for the day, we drove past the upmarket ambience of Gandhi Nagar and Green Park, the vibrant Karan Market and the old-world ambience at Taangewali Gali. Today, the lingering experience remains etched in my memory.

Vaishno Devi

Tales from Pir Panjal

Far from the frenzy of the Indian metros lies the Trikuth Mountains in the southern side of Pir Panjal Range of Jammu. This is the destination that conceals the hallowed cave shrine of Vaishno Devi, fondly known as Jai Mata Ji among the devouts. The shrine soars high on the popularity chart for pilgrims across the Indian sub-continent.

Jammu on the banks of river Tawi, forms the gateway to the pilgrim centre of Vaishno Devi popular as Bhawan. Back in the end of 20^th century, I had a penchant to visit the shrine post-Navratri and the idea of receiving first-hand info of what attracted pilgrims to the shrine in droves made us take the Jammu-Tawi Express from Kolkata with a plethora of enthusiasm. Insurgency was its peak in the border towns of Jammu so while passing through Kathua and Samba sectors, we could hear gun shots at a distance. On reaching Jammu, we took a bus going to Katra and along with other fellow pilgrims; we chanted hymns all along the way. After travelling a distance of 3 km from Jammu, we reached Nagrota replete with fruit orchards and rocky contours with undulating chain of hills.  There were Langurs all around in groups and river Tawi winding its ways through the rocky mountains appeared every now and then.

 We passed through the Chinar and walnut trees and soon there was sundown when we reached Katra- a lively hamlet in the valley in the foothills of Trikuth Mountains that serves as the base camp to Vaishno Devi. The entire 13-km stretch from Katra to Vaishno Devi glittered with sodium vapour lights at night. Tired, we made our way to a hotel and geared up for the early morning journey to Vaishno Devi.

  

                                                         A view of Katra

  The next morning, we began our trek with empty stomach and came across gilt-edged hoardings lining the streets of Katra. The entire town reverberates with the divine songs of Mata ji with sweet fragrance wafting the atmosphere. We reached the Banganga checkpoint to receive our yatra registration slip and the place echoed with cheers from scores of devotees assembling here. This was the starting point of our trek to the Trikuth Mountains that has a gurgling waterfall cascading into the river Banganga.

 River Banganga

With our Yatra registration slip verified, we moved along the trek route with other devotees singing “Jai Mata Di”. We took the ascending trail and refrained from climbing the infinite steps and paused often to catch our breath at regular intervals. Gradually we neared at a height of 4,800 feet and had covered 6 km of the trek. Since I had embarked on empty stomach and had fruit juice on the way, I was engulfed by a sudden feeling of nausea and couldn’t move further. After nauseating for a while, it was quite difficult for me to take steps and I was in tears. A devout lady who was trekking her way approached me and asked me to chant the hymns louder and following her advice, to my utter astonishment, I could finally move. We hired ponies and around 12 noon, we crossed half the trek route and arrived at Adhkunwari, reputed for the shrine of Goddess Durga. One can catch bewitching views of the Himalayan mountains and the rocky gorges with dollops of greenery and the hillside houses in Katra miles below.  

  Adhkunwari shrine

From Adhkunwari, it is a steep trek flanked by sprays of fern sprouting from the soil on rocks covered with thick mosses. We began huffing and puffing and with the sun going behind the mountains, the atmosphere was chilled. We were at Sanjichhat that is incidentally the highest point on the trek route at a height of 6,200 feet. We were glad that we could cover a distance of 9 km, which was an achievement for novices like us. There were mountain streams gushing down with full force through rocks and thick white clouds began appearing covering the lofty ice-clad peaks. This area of the trek was frequented by landslides, warned our Dogri porters.

 A view of Katra from Adhkunwari

It was bitingly cold and by the time we reached Bhawan, our teeth were chattering. We were at the divine site that has the paleolithic cave shrine of Vaishno Devi withstanding the ravages of time. We entered the shrine and heard the roaring of thunder echoing across the mountains followed by hailstorm. It was a sight to behold. The holy waters of river Charanganga washed the feet of the Goddess inside the cave and the outside ambience was drenched and wrapped in verdant greenery with a sudden shower.

Once our darshan was over, we had Rajma Chawal at the Darbar refreshment centre. Our return trip along the rain-washed trail was quite smooth and hearing the haunting folk tunes of Dogri porters was indeed refreshing. Having said this, a visit to Vaishno Devi shrine was a life-enriching experience for me.