Kalpataru

It’s time to praise the homespun. A lazy stroll in Boi-Para [neighbourhood of books] ended with a 'মন মাতোয়ারা' [Mon-Matoara or The Crazy Heart] and 'দিলখুশ' [Dilkush or The Happy Heart] from Kalpataru Bhandar - where paans, like progenies, are fondly named after the fervours they supposedly set off. Having spotted me at a distance, sprightly with a proud ancestry, Shyamal-da [Dutta] leaped off his stool and like clockwork whipped up his green-wonders. Unuse of Gulkand [mix made of rose petals] and Katha in paans kept the flavours just sweet throwing the subtle piquancy of Bhubaneshwari leaf, not Banarsi, into delicious relief, and so unleashed a bright and lasting aftertaste. Besides Books and Coffee House, Pan is often what hauls me to College Street of Calcutta.