Raj’s Spanish Cafe on Sudder Street is a hotspot for foreign visitors to Calcutta — be they touristy travellers, volunteers on a mission, or those who want to explore the city over an extended vacation. So when I heard about a traveller like me cooking up a storm at the cafe on an autumn Sunday, I couldn’t resist a visit. There were a number of highlights for me as a foreign visitor — having sausages and eggs for breakfast for the first time in weeks, for example — but Rafael’s paella was the standout.

Bonding over paella

Every foreign visitor to a city or a country brings a piece of their own culture to their temporary home. With Rafael, a social volunteer-cum-traveller from Spain, it was his paella, as two Brits, an Indian, some Armenians, an American and other Europeans came together under one roof to relish his meticulously prepared and cooked dish. Raj’s was the perfect atmosphere — a backpacker’s hostel without the hostel — to observe Rafael cooking and, most importantly, to taste an authentic paella. The experience of trying a Spanish dish in a corner of Calcutta, cooked by a Spaniard, with people from a wide spectrum of cultures was a reminder of how travel brings the world closer.

Raj, the host 

Raj was an instantly welcoming and inviting host, a trait that explains why so many travellers are regulars at his cafe. He himself has the travel bug, having attempted on a couple of occasions to organise a solo motorbike venture from Calcutta all the way to London! 

The paella maker

Rafael, the 85-year-old Spaniard, first came to Calcutta 30 years ago as a volunteer for an organisation run by Mother Teresa and would spend as long as eight months a year in Calcutta. Even now, Rafael is a fond traveller, backpacking with other volunteers, most recently to Thailand. 
Rafael and Raj met some years ago at the cafe, with Raj’s fluency in Spanish allowing for a relationship of genuine warmth and affection to blossom. In the past few years, Rafael has occasionally dropped in at Raj’s place and often ended up cooking a Spanish dish, “just for fun”. It was his paella that struck a chord with fellow travellers who were curious enough to try some. 

Home away from home

By far the most enthusiastic group I met at Raj’s was a team of Armenian expats who have been long-term regulars at the cafe. I have read about Calcutta being home to a contingent of Armenians for decades, with the Armenian College located not far from the cafe. One of them, Andranik, told t2 that he soon plans to fulfil a long-term pledge to Raj to come and cook an Armenian dish known as dolma, which consists of meat or vegetables wrapped in grape leaves. [This cook-in is happening at the cafe on October 1, says Raj.] Karen, another Armenian who has been in Calcutta since 2001, told us that Raj is like a friend, not a random cafe owner, and that there is a tradition at the Armenian school in which current students take new students to Raj’s place. Another Armenian, Argin, is even adding to Raj’s many wall murals, painting a Bengal tiger with a mountain backdrop.

Text: Elliot Keck 
Pictures: B. Halder

Elliot is a graduate from the University of Birmingham, currently interning with t2