The Sweetshops of Kolkata

摘要

When ravi shankar, the Bengali-born sitar virtuoso, returned to Kolkata in December 2007 after an absence of seven years, he was met by a mob of viPs, tv reporters, and cameramen. Yet he did not immediately address the media huddle. He turned insteadto a group of friends with a question that made some people wonder at the real reason for his trip. "Tell me," he whispered, "is it that Nakur still makes that sandesh?" Of course, everyone gathered there knew what he meant. In Kolkata, Nakur is the prince of confectioners, renowned for his sandesh, a delicate sweet that every Kolkatan claims as his birthright.