When I think of Durga Puja, I invariably think of my mother’s table. My late mother, Chitra Ghose, an extraordinary cook, was known for her magnificent Ashtami feasts: Khichuri, fish fry and the omnipresent kosha mangsho (slow cooked spicy mutton). At my mother’s table, orthodox puritanism of any form was anathema — food was abundant, so was acceptance of many culinary traditions.
My mother’s family friend was another legendary chef, the late Minakshie ‘Kewpie’ Dasgupta, whose family started the unique Kolkata home eatery “Kewpie’s Kitchen”. Nobody inspected my mother’s or Kewpie’s dishes to decide whether the food was sufficiently “Hindu”, or not. No food police dictated what should or should not be served.
