An urge to feed the unfed, that was born at the height of Covid and bloomed in the boot of a Maruti Zen Estilo turned into a food van, has now manifested in a much larger dream.

Joyraj Dey, who has worked as art director in the television industry in Mumbai and assisted Rituparno Ghosh in Bengal, and his friends are set to launch a Bengali cuisine restaurant in DF Block, New Town, called Annodatri, by Poila Baisakh.

The snacks counter downstairs, which sells mochar chop, beguni, ghol, aampora and such traditional fritters and drinks, is already running.

Last week, a 25ft idol of Annapurna, crafted by Joyraj himself, was worshipped and bhog distributed, drawing devotees from across New Town and beyond. The idol is a permanent installation in the driveway of the building in which he has acquired space over three floors.

The 50-seater restaurant will serve Bengali thalis on the first floor, starting from an affordable Rs 209 to a celebration thali at Rs 1049. The second floor will serve buffet meals.

Breakfast will be offered from 6am, featuring simple dishes like roti-begun bhaja, traditional sherbet and tea, keeping the morning walkers in mind.

The building is on a road diagonally opposite the NKDA office and on the same street as Visarjan Ghat.

Pandemic plan

Joyraj and his friends started collecting excess food from eateries and ceremony houses across the city in the Covid years and distributed the same among the impoverished staying on both sides of Bagjola Canal. “The vehicle we went round in carried a banner with the line, Amar santan jyano thake dudhe bhatey (drawing from the 18th century narrative poem Annadamangal Kavya), an idea of food for all which deeply resonates with me. But soon demand outstripped supply. So we opened a community kitchen under the same banner.”

Once the pandemic receded after a year and half, Joyraj went back to Mumbai but the calls of those who had started depending on the food supply kept coming. “I returned to Calcutta for nine days in 2022 and started a community kitchen in the garage of a friend’s co-operative apartment in AC Block, New Town, along with a puja as thanksgiving to the goddess. That was the first Annapurna idol I made,” said the 43-year-old, who had built his first idol at the age of 26 when his father forgot to place an order for a four-handed Saraswati in Kumartuli.

The Annapurna idol caught so many eyes that the resident of Greenwood Park was approached by Puja organisers from across New Town and he has made idols for Animikha, Avenida, Sunrise Greens and Swapnobhor.

Clay figurines that form part of the decor at the restaurant Annodatri in New Town

The restaurant might be a commercial venture but there is social service ingrained in its operations. “I did not want to steal chefs from other eateries. The guiding lights in my kitchen are rural women who have magic in their hands but are neglected in their families due to age. There will be staff to assist them but these mothers will wield the ladle. I provide them accommodation also. My dream is to support 100 such women,” adding that he had found two such mothers, one from the Sundarbans and another from Basirhat, who cook food “light on spices, rich in care”, as the banner outside proclaims.

Every Ashtami, Annodatri will provide annabhog before the idol. “Those who can afford it will pay for their meal, and those who cannot will get it free. I want to launch a gift-a-meal scheme where the well-off can leave a dish or two paid for to support those who are in need.” He is certain of success after receiving mushtibhiksha from visitors in the form of rice and pulses during Annapurna puja. “I did not have to buy any for the bhog,” he says.

Joyraj, whose mother runs an orphanage in Mumbai, has started one on the fringes of New Town, called Anandam, where he plans to adopt 25 children and offer moral education and counselling. “There are so many retired educated residents in New Town. They might want to share their time and wisdom in this project,” he said.

From 6pm on Chaitra Sankranti, there will be a 24-hour festival in the NKDA picnic spot opposite the building where Ganesh-Laxmi idols, built by Joyraj with assistance from underprivileged children, will be worshipped and there will be live music, recitation and art.

saltlake@abp.in