Flavours of Calcutta 

• I am quite a foodie and have a great taste for Bengali food (What Bengali specialty would you like to see on the Calcutta Street menu in London? February 4). I think Shrimoyee is doing a great job taking the flavours of Calcutta to the streets of London. Some of my favourite Bengali dishes which she can include on the menu are egg curry, mishti doi and luchi-alur dum.

Raunak Tibrewal

 

• Bengali food in London! What about jhaalmuri? The thonga, of course, is a must.

Diplina Misra

 

• Bengali items that Europeans are likely to relish are patishapta, rosogolla, doi ilish, chingrir malaikari, muri ghonto and begun bhaja. For an authentic flavour, the food should be served on plates made of kola pata (banana leaves) or shaal pata (sal leaves).

Debadrito Saha

 

• I would like to see begun diye ilish maacher jhol and kancha aamer chutney on the Calcutta Street menu in 
London.

Ishani Sen, Behala

 

• It’s a proud moment for Bengalis to have a restaurant in London serving Bengali dishes. The items I would like to see on the menu are shorshe ilish, bhetki machher paturi, shukto, khichudi, chingri machher malaikari, crab curry, khashir mangsho, koraishutir kochuri, aam doi katla and sweet dishes like pithe puli, payesh, malpoa, jilipi, gurer rosogolla and mishti doi. Papad, different kinds of chutney and pickles can also be included.

Atreyee Mallick, Auxilium Convent School, Bandel

 

Joy of giving

• I first realised the joy of giving when I helped a boy from a poor family in treating his mother, who was suffering from cancer (When did you first realise the joy of giving? February 8). I read about the boy’s plight in the newspaper and responded by sending a money order. Unfortunately, the lady did not survive. But this little gesture made me realise the joy of giving.

P. Saha

 

Long live action hero

• I totally agree that the action hero is lost, not just lost but forgotten as well (Do you agree that the action hero is lost? January 23). There was a time when a blockbuster movie was incomplete without action and the action hero was the main element, but I feel an overdose of such films has left the audience bored with the genre. With almost every second-action hero doing the same stunts and with every action movie having the same end, the audience has stopped enjoying action films. Directors and producers, hence, seem to prefer romantic or philosophical scripts or cheap comedies. Action films may have been been masala movies, but they were better than the masala movies of today.

Arshiyan Ali

 

Censorship matters

• I am hopeful that Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) will be less scissor- happy in 2016 (Are you hopeful that the CBFC will be less scissor-happy in 2016? January 16). Besides, the perceptions about the watchability of films has undergone a radical metamorphosis. The censor board members are supposed to be knowledgeable and pragmatic and there should be no reason for going overboard and banning films.

P.B. Saha, Salt Lake

 

• I am really glad that the censor board has not scissored anything from Tom Hooper’s The Danish Girl. I think the censor board is growing up and getting accustomed to the changed conditions of the 21st Century. But it did cut out many parts of Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, which is really sad. The censor board needs to understand that cutting out parts of a movie often makes it unworthy of a watch.

Kaushikee Bhattacharya

 

• Nowadays, movies seem to be projecting the society wrongly by showcasing violence and sex. According to me, censorship in movies is necessary as the filmmakers pull no stops to draw crowds. Vulgar scenes and abusive language in movies are to blame for the culture degradation in our society. An overdose of violence and sex will affect young minds and lead to an increase in crime. So, it is the responsibility of the censor board to ensure that movies do not have content that could adversely impact society. I think censorship is a must.

Arnab Dey, Bengal Institute of Technology, Sodepur

 

Weather woes

• This year winter played a game of hide and seek (Did the unusual weather affect your winter plans? February 10). The abrupt change in weather is throwing daily plans into a tizzy. The moment you pack your woollen into the closet, the temperature takes a turn. The difference in day and night temperatures makes it hard to adjust and results in running nose and cough.

Ankit Dubey, Belur