91: North Kolkata with Madhurima Chakraborty

This week, The Musafir Stories speaks to  Madhurima Chakraborty from the blog www.orangewayfarer.com (http://www.orangewayfarer.com/) !!! Today's destination: North Kolkata! Nearest Airport: Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU) Nearest Railway Station: KOLKATA (KOAA) Railway Station Prerequisites :n/a Packing : Packing according to the weather, summers can be hot and humid! Time of the year: October/During Durga Puja Length of the itinerary: A weekend to a week! Itinerary Highlights: - Madhurima talks about the history and significance of Kolkata, right from its origins to the time Job Charnok set up the first trading post of the East India Company. - We start off the itinerary of North Kolkata from the Shyam Bazaar area and 5 point crossing with the iconic Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose statue - Madhurima takes us on a walk across the buzzing neighbourhood, sampling some interesting local cuisine like Golbari Kosha Mangsho, Kachori and interesting eateries that are over a 100 years old. - From here, we walk to the iconic potter's quarters: Kumartoli. This region is popular for the iconic Durga Puja idols with over 200 families that carry on the tradition for this festival. Madhurima shares some interesting tidbits about the region, the traditions as well as the people. - Moving on from Kumartoli, we discuss the rich traditions associated to Durga Puja, the pandals, and the connection to the Bonedi baris of the Zamindars. - After talking about the grand festival of Kolkata, we move to College Street, one of the popular streets not just for the educational institutions, but also for the largest second hand book market of Asia. Don't forget to stop and get a bite at the iconic Indian Coffee house! - From here, we move towards Central Kolkata, stopping at MG Road and Badabazaar, talking about the local markets and its popularity. - The next pitstop is at Zakaria street - one of the most popular food streets of Kolkata. The street has some iconic eateries as well as the popular Nakhoda mosque. - Madhurima talks about the various eateries on Zakaria street and the local foods to try out - make sure to go on an empty stomach! - We move on from here to Esplanade to stop over at New Market and Park Street, giving a flavour of the contrasting regions of Kolkata! - We also discuss the Christmas festivities of Park Street and the charm of Nahoum's cake for Christmas! - Continuing with the lavish food choices of Kolkata, we discuss the famous Kolkata Biryani, the potato in the Biryani and the Lucknow connection - do not miss! - We talk about the unique Pice hotels of Kolkata, its speciality and history. - We close off the episode talking about the popular sweet dishes of Kolkata beyond Rasgulla and Sandesh - gotta go eat some sweet now! Links: Link to Madhurima's blog: https://www.orangewayfarer.com (https://www.orangewayfarer.com/) Links to Kolkata blog posts: https://www.orangewayfarer.com/?s=north+kolkata Follow Madhurima on Twitter: https://twitter.com/orangewayfarer IG: https://www.instagram.com/orangewayfarer/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/orangewayfarer Image Credit - Orange Wayfarer, Madhurima Follow the Musafir stories on: Twitter : https://twitter.com/musafirstories?lang=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themusafirstories/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musafirstoriespodcast/?hl=en website: www.themusafirstories.com (http://www.themusafirstories.com/) email: themusafirstories@gmail.com Apple podcasts -  https://apple.co/2LPtTA3 Google podcasts - http://bit.ly/2toY7lj website - http://bit.ly/2xFZqOV Saavn - https://bit.ly/2J5rIqi Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2HLPSVi Gaana - http://bit.ly/2NClUYY pocketcasts - https://bit.ly/2xu3Ewg castbox - https://bit.ly/2sqBDQi Overcast - https://bit.ly/2LN9wnf Stitcher Radio - https://bit.ly/2JiBbhw audioBoom - https://bit.ly/2oZZowS TuneIn - https://bit.ly/2xyQH4a RadioPublic - https://bit.ly/2snY9u0 iHeartradio - https://ihr.fm/2xvOG8R Deezer - https://bit.ly/2L7GmOo