The ?only branded florist chain? in the country, Ferns and Petals, has opened its 33rd outlet in the country. And this time, the city of choice is Calcutta.

?They have 22 flower boutiques in Mumbai, as well as a presence in various other cities. With the coming of the retail boom to Calcutta, the company thinks this is the right time to set fort here,? said Indira Agarwal, the franchisee owner in Calcutta.

With a national presence and a chain of suppliers, Ferns and Petals is stocking exotic flowers like Oriental Lily, Mokaras and Bird of Paradise, which are all to be flown in from Bangkok to the 8/1 Loudon Street address.

It?s not just lovely blooms that this place boasts of. ?This is the one-stop shop for everything in flower arrangements, something that?s a new concept in Calcutta,? stresses Mehul Agarwal of the boutique.

From the base (a basket or a vase), to accessories (beads, crystals and strings of pearls), every arrangement is promised.

ong with the natural blooms, a wide range of artificial flowers, dry flowers and various sizes of the lucky bamboo, made famous by Feng Shui, are up for sale.

(From left) Model Sanjukta gets decked up in flowers at the newly-opened Ferns and Petals; members of the Nirman Awards jury; Thai consul-general Wanna Perngmark and his wife place their krathongs in the pool on the occasion of Loy Krathong at the Oberoi Grand. Pictures by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya and Rashbehari Das

?The effort is to increase awareness about the use of flowers in everyday life. Once one steps in here, one realises you don?t need an occasion to buy flowers,? signs off Mehul.

Festive lights

During the Thai festival of lights or Loy Krathong, that was celebrated on November 26, local residents go to the local klong (canal) to float their krathong (close to our good ol? diya), with a flower, a candle and three incense sticks.

During the ritual, a coin is added as an offering for people to make a wish. The common belief is if the candle continues to burn till the krathong is out of sight, the wish comes true.

This festival acted as the starting point for most five-star addresses in the city to toss up some Thai gastronomic delights. While the Oberoi Grand did it the fun way with the Thai consul-general lighting lamps and setting them afloat in the swimming pool, ITC Sonar Bangla decided to pamper taste buds with a 10-day food festival.

Pan Asian, in fact, is celebrating the festival of lights and woman power at one go as three stars from the horizon of Thai cooking take over the kitchen of this cross-cultural cuisine stop.

For 10 days, The Spice Girls as they call themselves ? chef Tapanee Sritamai from ITC Sonar Bangla, chef Lertanong Pudpong from ITC Grand Maratha & Sheraton and chef Aphalmanee Khotchadet from Welcomgroup Marriot Hotel, New Delhi, are cooking up Thai dishes from the regular Tom Yum soup to the exotic pumpkin pudding.

The ? la carte arrangement is available both for lunch and dinner and the offering has been kept straight with a staple four-course meal.

The Oberoi Grand also makes it a point to observe this festival every year.

?Baan Thai has always been associated with everything that is essentially Thai. As an import of Thai tradition and culture we created this particular ambience and to lend authenticity to the food we brought ingredients from Thailand,? says Amitabh Rai, general manager, Oberoi Grand.

The festival was inaugurated by the Thai consul-general in Calcutta Wanna Perngmark.

?It is a beautiful festival and people in our country celebrate it with a lot of zeal,? he exclaimed. Soon after, krathongs, lights and lanterns flooded the moonlit poolside.

The new menu includes a range of appetisers, salads, soups and grills. The main course boasts of delicacies like Phad Phak Krathium Prik Thai (seasonal vegetables stir-fried with garlic and peppercorn sauce) and Khai Yat Sai (Thai stuffed egg omelette with chicken or pork filling).

Talent scout

A cameo by the little master saw India score a comfortable victory over the South Africans on Thursday. Not far from Eden Gardens, four little masters were having the time of their lives at the Oberoi Grand.

The BD Bangur Endowment held its first Nirman Awards in the Cooch Behar room to promote upcoming talent in the field of fashion design, still photography, textile design and art and utility.

Nirman is an annual free loan meant to provide financial assistance to talented people in various vocations. After a bout of major advertising in country-wide newspapers, over 40 per cent of applicants turned out to be from states other than Bengal.

The two-stage selection process saw the shortlisting of eligible candidates for the financial package. After conducting personal interviews and an examination of each person?s original work, the winners were decided.

Awards like these might come a dime a dozen but when you have an elite panel comprising Raghu Rai, Paresh Maity, Rakesh Thakore, Anamika Khanna and Chittrovanu Mazumdar picking the performers, the award automatically acquires repute.

Sabyasachi Mukherjee supports the endowment trust. ?It is only when talent meets opportunity that you can be successful,? was the message to the winners from the young designer.

In the chosen categories, four successful candidates were given an interest-free loan of up to Rs 1,00,000 and the winners received a grant of the same amount.

The four winners were Padmaja K (fashion designing), Ashish Ghosh (art and utility), Rajesh Chatterjee (textile designing) and Tanmoy Ghosh (still photography). Out of the four winners, Tanmoy Ghosh and Ashish Ghosh are from Hugli and Santiniketan respectively.

And what did Raghu Rai whisper to Tanmoy while handing over the award? ?Concentrate on your goals and let not small barriers deter you.?

Himika Chaudhuri