R.K. Pachauri and (right) Remo Fernandes

From food to food for thought, the Calcutta Club International Evening is set to expand its scope this year.

The 34th edition of the event will be held on January 19, in association with The Telegraph. This year’s special attraction is a symposium, “On to a Greener, Sustainable Future”, the day before the main event. R.K. Pachauri, the chairperson of the Nobel prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and Seema Arora of the CII will dwell on the topic. Musical performances by The Monsoon Duo, a Canada-based group sponsored by the country’s consulate, and Indian fusion band Advaita will follow.

The International Evening, known for the array of global cuisine on offer, was started in 1979 by diplomats in the city, said Kalyan Chowdhury, the convener of the upcoming edition. “The growing expectation of members has prompted us to think bigger. With their support, we wanted to move from food to food for thought and focus on global issues and challenges. Food and music will let global minds connect,” added Chowdhury.

The January 19 evening will see a tete-a-tete between writer-commentator and The Telegraph columnist Suhel Seth and guest of honour Shatrughan Sinha. Remo Fernandes and DJ Akbar Sami will then rock the stage with foot-tapping beats.

The traditional draw, the food spread, will be from 32 countries this year. There will be stalls by the HHI, Oh! Calcutta, Sigree, Mainland China, The Flying Monk, Tamarind and consulates of Nepal, Russia and Bangladesh. The club’s stall will serve German and Scandinavian delicacies. “Fusion food is not served at the International Evening; only traditional global food,” said Arundhuti Mukherjee, a member of the club.

“The club has been preparing for three months for the event. Our chairman Jawhar Sircar, the Prasar Bharati CEO, has helped us immensely in organising the symposium and bring together leading minds of India to discuss, debate and analyse ways to make our planet sustainable,” said club president Dilip Kumar Saha.