If there is an East Bengal-Mohun Bagan football match in Calcutta, they say, the price of hilsa or prawn goes up depending on the match result. Didn’t get it? Well, it’s the story of an age-old rivalry that begins on the pitch and ends on the plate!
| east Bengal |
 |
| Starter: Ilish Finger Fry |
 |
| Main course: Lau Bhapa Ilish |
To celebrate more than 90 years of this unique football frenzy, 6 Ballygunge Place will host the East Bengal-Mohun Bagan food festival from November 13 to 24 at their Salt Lake and Ballygunge outlets. On offer will be delicacies from both sides of Bangla, bridging the Ghoti-Bangal divide.
“Football in our days was not only a sport, it was a lifestyle, a passion. From surnames to food habits, dialect to demeanour, fans of the two clubs were radically different. Football apart, they took pride in their cuisine,” said Maidan great Gautam Sarkar, who remembers how a Mohun Bagan fan had dangled a galda chingri before him after his team East Bengal lost in a Durand Cup match in 1974.
The menu looks like a showdown too — the two camps have a face-off in every section, starters to dessert. Fish is obviously the key player in this gourmet game. “The main fight is between hilsa and prawn, so the menu is centred around these two. But there’s a lot of nitty-gritty that also separate these two forms of food,” said Sushanta Sengupta, director and chef, 6 Ballygunge Place.
| Mohun Bagan |
 |
| Starter: Narkol Diye Chingri Finger |
 |
| Main course: Kosha Mangsho |
Starters from East Bengal include more of bata and bharta (raw or sauteed fish and vegetables, finely minced or ground to paste), while those from Mohun Bagan are mainly pora (mashed roasted vegetables).
Dessert from East Bengal is mainly rice- and coconut-based, while that from the Mohun Bagan side are milk-based. A meal for two will cost Rs 800-plus.
What: Twilight by The Park in association with MTV
When: November 16
Where: Tantra, The Park
What to expect: The second edition of Twilight, a music festival dedicated to the new wave of electronic music, is here. Expect Saturday night to be packed with music, dance and revelry.
Artistes to watch out for: Some of the best names in electronic music. VH1 DJ of the Year winner (2012 and 2013) Ankytrixx, Ash Roy of Jalebee Cartel, Tantra’s resident DJ V Society, 8-Bit Culprit, DJs Hussain, Rudra, Yidam, Joy and Kabir. VJ Philip Gordon will be there to implement 3D & 4D projection mapping for that “larger-than-life effect
