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ShareShe's Gujarati. He's Bengali. And the twain met, chucked their jobs and followed their instinct to set up a Bengali restaurant in the heart of Oshiwara. Kareena Gianani reports
Tapan Roychowdhury, 58, samples a spoonful of bhetki fish paturi (fish mixed with mustard paste, wrapped in banana leaf and steamed) as the cook looks on expectantly.
He shakes his head and orders the dish back to the kitchens, declaring it unfit to be served because there's a tad too much mustard in the paste. Meanwhile, his wife Monisha, 53, hugs a customer goodbye. "Tomake aaro beshi kore asha uchit. (You must come more often)," she chides.
The throng of customers at Calcutta Club, a restaurant serving Bengali food at Oshiwara, belies the fact that it is a recent addition to the landscape. "When a customer tells us we have given him a great foodie experience, it makes our day," smiles Monisha.
The Roychowdhurys are late entrants to the restaurant business. Tapan was 56 when he decided to quit his job as accounts executive at Reliance and chase his dream of opening a restaurant.
Why did he narrow down on Bengali food -- a cuisine that has yet to take off in the city? "In the 27 years spent in Mumbai, we craved authentic Bengali food but no restaurant lived up to the taste of Calcutta," explains Tapan.
He approached Monisha who was happy leading a relaxed retired life. "Running a restaurant seemed like such a mess! I should have known Tapan would convince me -- as always I am glad I gave in," she says.
Lack of any previous experience, a background in running a business, age -- none of that daunted the couple. Calcutta Club opened its doors in July, 2005 with a modest menu of 20 dishes.
There were enough naysayers -- the kind that go 'omigod, what are you thinking of, where's the money, what about your age, what about profits' etc etc.
But the Roychowdhurys jumped right in. "People often asked us if we were assured of returns. We never really bothered about that. We just went with our gut feeling," says Tapan.
And then began the mad rush of trips to Calcutta to get the flavour right and the hunt for Bengali cooks. "We were clear that we would serve what had never been served before and somehow convinced those cooks to come to Mumbai.
Tapan is a connoisseur of Bengali food and he drove them crazy with innumerable trials until they got it right. For instance, the biryani is not full of gravy but of flavoured spices and the sweet dish, payesh, is made from khejur gud (jaggery made from dates) brought from Calcutta," says Monisha.
They also paid a lot attention to the décor. Posters of Satyajit Ray, Uttam Kumar, Mrinal Sen and Sharmila Tagore adorn the walls of the restaurant and Rabindrasangeet wafts through the air.
"It is not only authentic Bengali food that we want to serve -- we are looking at the culture and music that will heighten the Calcutta experience for our customers," says Tapan. The couple didn't want a stiff, formal approach to this venture.
No wonder patrons address the couple as kaka and kakima (uncle and aunt). "We just treat our customers the way we treat friends back home. We didn't pick up any hospitality industry tricks," says Monisha.
The number of die-hard fans they have gathered around them speaks volumes about their venture. Antara Mitra, a regular customer, says, "Their moori ghonto (a dish made of rice and fish) and bhapa ilish (hilsa fish marinated and steamed with mustard paste and green chillies) is the best I have ever tasted.
I keep coming back for the warmth that only Calcutta Club boasts of." When you see Monisha playing the charming hostess, it is difficult to believe her when she says she's a Gujarati. "I have blended into the Bengali way of life quite effortlessly," she laughs.
Monisha looks after the kitchen while Tapan brings in the discipline and attention to detail. "We are poles apart in our ideas but never impose on each other.
I make sure she is convinced if we go my way and vice-versa. It keeps us connected," says Tapan. Monisha adds that the restaurant is the best thing to have happened to them.
"No job I know gives you satisfaction every minute the way this does. We get companionship, laughter, zest for life -- what more do I want at 53?"
Tapan has grand plans for Calcutta Club. "We want to move to a bigger place and introduce live music performances, a play area for kids and artists to teach them art and dance. There is so much more to do. And lots of time to do it," he grins.
