Taj Bengal, Kolkata: A Homecoming

My visit to Taj Bengal was supposed to be a regular hotel review. The kind where you check in, settle into your luxury suite, enjoy some great F&B, get a spa treatment or two and check out feeling rather special. Well, all of that did happen at Taj Bengal, and in good measure, but I was not quite prepared for how nostalgic my visit would make me feel for another time, when life was simpler, and Kolkata was home.

The first time I visited Taj Bengal was in 1989, a few weeks after it was inaugurated by Chief Minister Jyoti Basu on October 10, 1989, with much fanfare. The hotel took five years to build and was the Taj Group’s first foothold in the east. It was a big deal in communist Kolkata, which till then had boasted only a handful of functional five-star hotels like The Oberoi Grand, The Park and Hotel Hindustan International; the Great Eastern Hotel was mired in labour unrest, and ITC Hotels and Hyatt were yet to make a foray into the city.

My uncle was visiting from the US, and he announced, much to my delight, that he would be taking us to Taj Bengal for lunch at what was then The Esplanade, whose biggest draw was a sumptuous all-you-could-eat buffet. The restaurant is now called Cal 27, referencing the hotel’s 700027 PIN code. I remember how impressed I was by the high atrium, the sandstone columns, the impressive chandeliers; the grand interiors perfectly complemented the modern architecture by American architect Bob Fox.

I had been to the Taj Bengal many times since that first visit, sometimes for family celebrations and personal milestones, but also as a lifestyle journalist in the early 2000s to interview people, attend food reviews, attend high-profile events, and track down celebs who were staying there for a byte or two. Over the years, the Taj Bengal has hosted numerous Indian and international celebrities, including Mira Nair, Shah Rukh Khan, and Hillary Clinton. I remember I was most thrilled when I once ran into the entire Indian cricket dream team, with stars like Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Javagal Srinath, VVS Laxman, Harbhajan Singh, and Zaheer Khan, as they made their way from the lobby onto their team bus.

A Reacquaintance

Nearly four decades later, I walk through the same doors, and the atrium still stops me. Tiers of balconies climb towards a skylight, every level edged with a planter bed, banded in blush pink. Sandstone-clad columns hold the whole thing up, and two palms stand over a water channel where white lotus candles float.

Art runs through the establishment. I walk down to the Promenade Lounge to admire the iconic terracotta musicians by sculptor-painter Shyamal Roy that look down on the tea tables. Later, I find a miniature terracotta replica of a musician in my room, a token from the General Manager, Parvinder Singh Bual, to remind me of my time at the hotel.

Works by Sakti Burman, Paritosh Sen and Asit Haldar hang across the public spaces. And Cal 27, where I once piled my plate at the Esplanade buffet, has been reinvented more than once: a trattoria at one point, then, in 2017, a redesign led by a French designer who drew on the Marble Palace, Sovabazar Rajbari and the Victoria Memorial.

The Suite Life

I am led to my Luxury Suite by my butler, Sudeshna, who looks charming in a navy blazer with white stripes, white trousers and brogues, a polka-dot scarf knotted at the neck. I am drawn to a slate plate on the coffee table, with a white-chocolate Howrah Bridge arching over four petit fours and a yellow label that reads Welcome to Taj Bengal. Kolkata in miniature, and edible. I wonder if the white chocolate is a coincidence or a thoughtful gesture since I am allergic to dark chocolate. Hotels work in mysterious ways!

The suite is a study in restraint. A tufted Chesterfield sofa faces a coffered ceiling, louvred panels sit in the walls, and triangles of marble run across the floor in a pattern that reminds me of old Kolkata tiles. In the bedroom, a tufted headboard sits below a mirror, and an aqua bench sits at the foot of the bed. The bath area is luxurious, and I am happy to find that the amenities are from Forest Essentials, one of my favourite skincare brands.

I stop to look out of the wide window at the green treetops of the Alipore Zoo, freshly washed by sharp morning showers, and think that even though I’ve spent so much time at Taj Bengal over the years, it is only now that I have been invited in.

At the Table

Lunch is at Chinoiserie, the hotel’s Sichuan and Cantonese dining room. The meal arrives in waves. First comes the clear chicken dumpling soup with kaffir lime, then the Butter Chilli Garlic prawns, flecked with chilli and slicked with a garlicky butter sauce. I create my main course platter with a flavourful shredded lamb with fresh chilli and coriander, stir-fried broccoli, snow peas, and asparagus, accompanied by jasmine fried rice and hakka noodles. Dessert is vanilla ice cream with sesame-candied walnuts and darsaan. Later, I am introduced to Himadri Sekhar Pari, junior sous chef, who is somewhat of a legend at Chinoiserie. Also known as Chef Bapi, he started as a street food vendor, then became a cook at legendary Kolkata eateries like Anadi Cabin and Bedouin before a long-held dream and fierce ambition led him to the kitchens of Taj Bengal. Once a whiz with Kabiraji, kathi rolls and cutlets, he is now a master at creating Chinoiserie’s signature Kolkata Chinese flavours.

By late afternoon, the Promenade Lounge turns into a local chai adda, with the terracotta musicians looking on. There is even a “jhalmuriwallah” with his round tin containing puffed rice, mustard oil, green chilli, soaked chana and all the other paraphernalia that goes into making that paper cone of deliciousness. It is about as Kolkata as a snack gets.

Dinner is at Sonargaon, named for Bengal’s medieval capital, which puts North-West Frontier cooking and Bengali dishes on a single menu. The popular restaurant is known for its rustic Mud-House aesthetic, with textured walls that mimic a classic village mud house. Heavy, dark-toned wooden beams line the ceiling, paired with hand-carved partitions and sturdy wooden furniture. There are traditional hanging lantern-style fixtures, terracotta accents, brass and copper vessels, and exquisite hand-woven textiles. While the most popular item on the menu is a Bengali thali, I opted for a lamb Kakori kebab, Dal Sonargaon, Kosha Mangsho and the layered Lucknowi flatbread, Gilafi Kulcha.

After Dark

After dinner, chief concierge Sanjib Ghosh, a treasure trove of information about the hotel and Kolkata, keeps his promise and takes us on a tour of the city. As we drive down towards Dalhousie and Red Road, memories of former workplaces resurface; Nandan and Victoria Memorial whiz by, not lit up as I had expected, but it was almost midnight. Burra Bazaar is still a chaotic mess even at night, but Howrah Bridge is less congested. We loop back through Alipore and go by the newly opened World Museum and National Library before returning to the hotel. It’s been over two decades since I left the city, and while Kolkata will always be home, I realise that it’s not as familiar as it once was.

The Information

Tariff: Starts at approximately INR 9,900 per night for a Deluxe Room, with higher categories and suites priced separately. Rates vary by date, occupancy, inclusions and applicable taxes.

Address: 34-B, Belvedere Road, Alipore, Kolkata, West Bengal 700027.

Website: tajhotels.com

Contact: +91 33 6612 3939

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