(From top) A stall at the Inside Outside Mega Show at Science City; the Thai consul general and the British deputy high commissioner inaugurate a Thai food festival at The Park; Chaitali Dasgupta in performance on the Grain of Salt terrace. Pictures by Rashbehari Das

The Inside Outside magazine, in association with Business India Exhibitions, plays host to Inside Outside Mega Show on the Science City premises till December 4. The event was inaugurated by architect Prabir Mitra on Thursday.

The exhibition being held in the city for the fourth consecutive year sees participation from 50 companies.

“We host this exhibition in 15 places across the country including the metros and places like Surat, Coimbatore, Chandigarh and Kochi. The idea is to provide customers information and easy access to their design and decoration needs under one roof. They can look around, interact with the sellers and get the best according to their tastes and needs,” says Sachin Dawda, manager, sales, of Business India Exhibitions.

From designer tiles to artistic washbasins to sleek furniture to upholstery, the exhibition boasts stalls by big names like Varmora Tiles, Asian Paints, Eureka Forbes, Kajaria Ceramics, Kurl-on, Grasim, Legrand and many more.

At Science City, the exhibition is open on Saturday from 3 pm to 8 pm and on Sunday between 10 am and 8 pm. From here, the exhibition moves on to Delhi.

Cause concert

Trucewards, a musical extravaganza, was held to mark World AIDS Day on the Grain of Salt terrace on Thursday.

Conceptualised and directed by Sujoy Prosad Chatterjee, the one-hour programme was an artistic amalgamation of sorts. The show hosted by Barun Das began at 8 pm, soon after a cocktail session.

It opened with Sujoy reciting verses from Rabindranath Tagore and Joy Goswami. Accompanying him on stage was television personality and designer Chaitali Dasgupta, who interpreted the words through her choreography.

This act was followed by dancer Kiron Sarkar’s innovative fusion dance. The finale saw Gopa Ghosh enthralling the audience with melodious numbers.

Imagine, Yesterday and Heal The World seemed the most appropriate songs for this evening, put together to “celebrate the undying spirit of life”.

“Last year’s meeting with David Gere changed my perception altogether. He said that artistes had a major responsibility to spread AIDS awareness,” said Sujoy.

The celebrity quotient was upped by MP Krishna Bose, actor Badshah Maitra, models Priyanka and Riya who mingled with corporate honchos.

Thai treat

Thai Consul General Wanna Perngmark and his wife Porn Chada inaugurated a Thai food festival at Zen, the Oriental speciality restaurant at The Park on Friday. British deputy high commissioner Andrew Hall was also present at the opening.

Chef Nut Kunlert has designed an exotic menu for this festival, which is on till December 12. An interesting array of starters, soup, curries, seafood, rice and noodles, where the typical Thai ingredients galangal, kaffir lime and lemon grass come together in a unique concoction of sweet, sour, salty and hot flavours, make up the menu.

Starters like Thai Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce, Papaya Salad with Char Grilled Prawns, Thai Corn Cake served with Sweet Chilly and Cucumber Dip are accompanied by hot soups like the ever-popular Tom Yum or Tom Kha with a choice of prawn, chicken, mix seafood or vegetables.

Moving on to the main course, there are choices in Thai red and green curries.

A wide selection of poultry items include delicacies like Sliced Chicken with Pineapple and Ginger, Chicken in Oyster Sauce, while the meats include traditional favourites like Shredded Lamb with Thai Herbs.

There’s also a host of seafood and vegetables to take your pick from.

For sweet endings, try the Deep Fried Ginger Chocolate Fritters or Sticky Rice and Mango.