Mitali Homestay – an oasis of calm

We went back to Shantiniketan. After 4 long years. And found that the place has changed almost beyond recognition.

To begin with, the cycle rickshaws that were the life and soul of the place are all but gone.Replaced by battery operated tuktuks.

All rickshaw drivers have invested in this faster mode of transportation as it can carry four passengers as opposed to two in a rickshaw at very little physical labour.

But most have not been able to give up the speed of cycle rickshaws causing incredible traffic jams across the sleepy towns of Bolpur and Prantik.

It was a culture shock for us.

Saving grace was the place we were staying.

Mitali Homestay is the brilliant brainchild of two people who converted their rather large home into a lovely residential for travellers seeking peace, quiet and great food.

Bookings were handled very efficiently.

We boarded the train and three and half hours of an entertaining ride later, got off at Prantik to meet our driver, Shibu.

Got on to a white Ambassador and rambled to Mitali.

It was nighttime and we could barely make out the lay of the land as we reached.

We were ushered in our large room by Bijoy, the caretaker.

Being used to hotels, we took our time to get used to someone else's home.

The large comfortable bed, the home-style bathroom, the windows overlooking a very green garden put us at ease very quickly.

And then we went about sampling what we heard a lot about.

MITALI'S FOOD
For dinner we were served a fantastic chicken curry, some great paratha and some veggies. Real comfort food that helped us sleep well at night.

What we ate for the next day and half were pure poetry.

From the toast and omelet for breakfast to the ethereal lunch of aluposto (potatoes cooked with poppy seed paste), mangshor jhol (goat meat curry), crisp fried okra and a subtle mug dal with lime leaf, everything was nothing short of brilliant.

Mita, the cook at Mitali outdid herself at dinner with a pasta with fragrant rustic tomato sauce and a roast chicken which was finger licking good. Dark, savoury, sticky, with a hint of sweetness. Was it Worcestershire sauce? I would not know.

All I can say is that Mitali is an oasis in the quickly-turning-into-a-city Shantiniketan.

Photo: Kaniska Chakraborty