The US consulate general flagged off the run-up to a milestone year with the celebration of the 249th anniversary of American independence recently with a reception at Hyatt Regency Kolkata.
Hosting her first national day in Calcutta, consul general Kathy Giles-Diaz was introduced as having spent time since her arrival in the city either “travelling across the region to strengthen Indo-US partnerships” or “debating the finer points of Calcutta-style biryani”, the mention of the latter drawing smiles to the faces of the local guests.
Charge d'affaires of the US embassy Jorgan K. Andrews delivers his speech
Giles-Diaz, in turn, introduced charge d’affaires Jorgan K. Andrews. On his second visit from Delhi, he was invited to return to the city for the third time, with the enticing offer of being shown around during Durga puja.
Space collaboration between the two countries figured prominently in Andrews’s speech, in the wake of Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla’s 18-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as part of Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4). This mission was a collaboration between NASA, ISRO, ESA, and SpaceX. “We are looking forward to launching the Nisar (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) earth map satellite with ISRO at the end of this month from Andhra Pradesh,” he said of a joint mission that took place since, on July 30, lifting off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota.
Calcutta’s special place in Indo-US relations, being one of the oldest US missions anywhere in the world, was brought up by both Andrews and the chief guest, Manoj Pant, the chief secretary to the government of West Bengal. Benjamin Joy, the first US consul appointed in 1792 by President George Washington, arrived here in 1794.
A QR code-based quiz took place, the results of which were announced in the course of the evening. Owaiz Aslam was the lucky guest who won a hamper of American liquor bottles. “There were five questions — on the US national anthem (The Star-Spangled Banner), the number of stars and stripes on the US flag (50 stars and 13 stripes), their significance (50 states and 13 original British colonies that became the country’s first states), the document that was signed on July 4, 1776 (the Declaration of Independence) and the highest food item traditionally consumed on the day (hotdog)…” he told t2.
US consul hands over a gift hamper to the winner of a quiz on the US
The dinner featured American favourites like Pulled Pork and Beef Mini Sliders, Slow-smoked Barbecue Beef and Southern Fried Chicken. Hyatt Regency Kolkata executive chef Ishika Konar had also laid out an elaborate spread of lost recipes from various corners of India. Guests thus had a taste of Doodh Aur Gucchi ke Pulao, Burgul ke Kebab, Bawli Handi, Kibti, Badal Jam and more. “Kibti is a Patiala dish of stuffed chicken marinated in yoghurt and garnished with almonds, and cooked in a yellow gravy. Badal Jam is an Awadhi appetiser starring brinjal, which is available in plenty in Bengal. Cooked with hung curd and spices, it works well in Calcutta’s humid weather,” she explained to t2.
In keeping with the occasion being a birthday, the dessert section featured Chaler Payesh that traditionally brings a Bengali birthday dinner to a sweet ending.