(From top) Models at the preview of the Indian food festival to be held in Malaysia; Koneenica samples the kebabs at The HHI; a model shows off Soumya’s award-winning creation. Pictures by Pabitra Das and Rashbehari Das

Jhinge Posto, Bhetki Machher Paturi, Reshmi Kebab, Dal Makhni ? a few of the 100 recipes that Malaysia will be able to sample during a 12-day Indian food festival to be hosted by City Bay View Hotel on the island of Penang.

This could well be the first opportunity for the Chinese and Malay population at the holiday hotspot to bite into some ethnic Indian fare. For Calcutta, it’s a chance to showcase itself as a possible destination for Malaysian tourists.

Calcutta’s Kenilworth hotel is the only hotel in India with the opportunity to take a team of chefs and officials to Georgetown, capital of Penang, to set up an Indian food festival starting June 6.

“If Malaysians really like the Indian food at the festival, they might just land up here looking for the same thing,” reasoned state tourism minister Dinesh Dakua. The state government is backing this endeavour with the hope that this exchange will help boost tourism in the state.

“We are glad to be able to start the first Indian food festival in Penang. This might be the beginning of an extensive exchange between India and Malaysia,” said Raju Bharat, managing director, Kenilworth Group of Hotels. The festival will have 12 set menus with items from every region of the country and special emphasis on Bengali cuisine.

“Since authentic Indian spices and ingredients won’t be available in Malaysia, we are carrying many items,” added Bharat.

The alliance with City Bay View Hotel has been spearheaded by Jet Setters, a city tour operator that sells holidays in Southeast Asia to Indians. “We broached the idea of organising an Indian food festival at City Bay hotel,” said Tarakeshwar Singh, director of Jet Setters. A team from the hotel consisting of Malay and Chinese people toured Calcutta, trying food at all five star and four star properties till they chanced upon the food at Marble Room in Kenilworth and zeroed in.

“They liked the non-pungent, non- spicy and low-on-oil food that they felt would suit the palate of the population there,” explained Singh, who was with the touring team. “In fact, the food that we will dish out will essentially be low on spices and oil,” added Bharat.

Resident manager Kaushik Ghosh, F&B manager Bipul Roy and chefs Debashish Roy, Kuntal Das and Sandip Nag will be part of the team attending the food fest.

(Clockwise from top) Models at the preview of the Indian food festival to be held in Malaysia; Koneenica samples the kebabs at The HHI; a model shows off Soumya’s award-winning creation. Pictures by Pabitra Das and Rashbehari Das

Future fad

Soumya Dev Mondol’s clothes have been hailed as practical ? not a word usually associated with young fashion design students.

On the other hand, his choice to give up a course in engineering for a career in fashion might be considered rather impractical by some.

But it has worked, and how. The Calcutta boy, who left Chennai and engineering behind him after coming second in the National Institute of Fashion Technology exam, bagged the Paul Salon Award for the most practical collection in his graduating year at the institute’s Delhi branch.

Next, he clinched the top award from the BD Bangur Endowment Trust last year, beating contestants from across the country. After a stint under designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Soumya has just launched his own label which he retails from stores like Melange in Mumbai, Elahe in Hyderabad and Intrigue in Calcutta.

“Fashion designing is an expensive course. Coming from a middle-class background, I really had to work my way through,” says Soumya, who also worked for a while in an export house in Delhi. A loan from the Bangur trust helped him start a little workshop on the terrace of his south Calcutta home.

Soumya’s clothes speak a language different from the clutter of sequins and semi-precious stones seen here, there and everywhere. “I like my clothes to have a subtle yet antique and rich look,” says the designer, who has been using a lot of textured and layered fabric for his creations. Using cotton, raw silk and linen, Soumya is creating interesting kurtis, jackets, skirts and trousers for women.

His Basanti in Bollywood ensemble that won him the top prize in the national contest is a retro outfit with a flowing layered skirt, a white T-shirt digitally printed with movie posters and a beige jacket with bright pink silk layering inside and embroidery on the sleeves.

(Clockwise from top) Models at the preview of the Indian food festival to be held in Malaysia; Koneenica samples the kebabs at The HHI; a model shows off Soumya’s award-winning creation. Pictures by Pabitra Das and Rashbehari Das

Tasty treat

Hot kebabs served from mini tandoors and specially made tawas is the attraction at Kalash, the speciality Indian restaurant at The HHI. The Indian outfit is dishing out a new menu of vegetarian and non-vegetarian snacks. Complemented with rotis and dal, the kebabs are served on a “eat as much as you want” basis. The bill for an unlimited supply is Rs 500.

Mango chaas is the welcome drink, to beat the heat. Try the conventional Mutton Barra Kebab or the innovative Kenkra Roll. The veg brigade can pamper themselves with Bharwan Badami Aloo or house speciality Hussaini Paneer Tikka.