Haven in Calcutta

To me, the Calcutta Dharamshala offers the luxury and simplicity of living in a true Parsi tradition. I have stayed at the Dharamshala on three occasions in the last 15 years and I can personally vouch for the excellent service and the cleanliness of the place. My last travel to Calcutta was in March 2002 after I had successfully completed the Everest Base Camp trek in Nepal. I needed a well-deserved rest!

The Maneckji Rustomji Dharam­shala, strictly for Zoroastrian travelers, was said to be built in 1908 and the current new building was later added on in 1936. The Dharamshala offers temporary resting place for travelers from all over India, and also from Nepal and Bhutan, and occasionally for overseas travelers like myself. The 13 rooms are spread on two floors. Rooms are large and furnished in typical Parsi style complete with two wooden beds, a steel cupboard for locking your valuables, an easy chair, a dresser, and a solid vintage timber table and chairs. This was reminiscent of my old house in Dadar, Bombay wherein the furniture provided some great hiding places! Rooms have an attached western-style toilet.

What makes such an institution run so efficiently is the men and women behind it. The Dharamshala is run by the trustees of the Calcutta Zoroastrian Community’s Religious and Charity Fund (CZCRCF). The day-to-day management of the Dharamshala is handled by Dolly Lavji Katrak, a staunch and determined lady of 76 years. Her cordiality, hospitality and sincerity are some of the virtues that travelers admire. One feels so much at home and comfortable during the stay. Born in Bijapur near Sholapur, she shifted to Dhaka where her husband Lavji Katrak was running a Daak Bungalow. Many travelers including American and British troops passed through their Daak Bungalow during the Second World War. During the partition in 1947, they were forced to shift to Calcutta as Dhaka fell under East Pakistan. For the next 20 years they sup­plied Parsi meals from Vacha Mohallah in Dharamtalla Street. In 1968 Dolly and Lavji were entrusted with the running of the Dharamshala. Her dedication towards work and the upkeep of the Dharmshala has been unwavering these last 34 odd years. With the passing away of her late husband in 1996, she has since been assisted with bookkeeping by Adel Sutaria. Dolly also commands a team of housekeepers and cooks, some of whom have been with her for the last 15 to 20 years.

Drinking sips of tea (a pot of tea costs only six rupees or in Australian currency 15 cents) on the easy chair and reading The Statesman truly lets you relax and enjoy the start of the day in the true fashion of a Parsi. The room charge is Rs 25 per day and lunch or dinner costs Rs 50. Food is divine and very hygienic. It would take a lot of persua-sion for a person like me to be dragged away from such good and tasty Parsi food in lieu of five star tandoori or an Italian lasagna or a French cuisine.

The Dharamshala has also played host to Parsi cricket teams from Surat, Hyderabad, Jamshedpur and Nagpur during the play off in Calcutta as guests of the CZCRCF. The Dharamshala is packed during the lagan and navjote season. The proximity of the Dharam­shala to the Dhunjibhoy Byramjee Mehta’s Atash Adaran gave me an opportunity to visit the agiary every single day, something we miss so dearly in Australia.

The Dharamshala is located on Bow Street, Bow Bazaar which was once the central hub of Calcutta where Zoroastrians, Anglo-Indians, Muslims, Jews and Bengalis all lived in harmony. The old buildings built by Parsis around this central area are now under heritage listing (over 100 years old). Madon Street boasts of many buildings of great architectural and aesthetic value. There is even a toddy shop in the adjacent street owned by a rich Parsi family.

China town and the famous Kamling restaurant used to be a few minutes’ walk from the Dharamshala. However today, all the restaurants have disappeared due to burgeoning slums on those same streets. While Somerset Maugham may have liked to stay in the famous Raffles in Singapore or The Orient in Bangkok and Hongkong, give me the Calcutta Dharamshala and all its trimmings.

JEHANGIR MEHTA

Perth, Australia