When advertising, marketing and diversifying are the order of the day for a business to succeed, Paramount in Kolkata has resisted all the established rules of the game. But can you be too critical of the policy when you are told that Paramount -- tucked within a warren of shops on Bankim Chatterjee Street in central Kolkata &ndash has completed a century selling only shorbot and syrup made from their own recipes As you enter, the signage at the entrance reminds you that the shop was founded in 1918.
The late founder lords over a collection of print media clippings[/caption]
&ldquoMy father had ingrained in us the mantra of using quality ingredients, and that is what has stood us in good stead all these years,&rdquo said the late founder&rsquos 70-something son, Mrigendra Majumdar, with a hint of pride in his voice. The younger members of the family, who also take an active part in running the shop, nodded in agreement. Probably, the seed of courage to go beyond established norms was planted when a young man from Barishal (then part of undivided Bengal and now in Bangladesh), Nihar Ranjan Majumdar, opened a shop in Kolkata (or Calcutta as the city was then known as) called Paradise. Selling shorbot was a front. It was actually a covert meeting ground for those plotting to overthrow the British. Nihar Ranjan belonged to the then well-known revolutionary outfit Anushilan Samity. He changed the name of the shop to Paramount when the cover was blown.
The shop itself has changed very little over the years it seemed, &ldquoexcept for some functional changes like a modern fridge replacing the old Germany-made wooden one,&rdquo added Majumdar. Animal trophies (apparently bought from an auction by the Nizam of Hyderabad) shared wall space with yellowed portraits of famous Bengalis, flower bedecked gods looked upon the crowd around the Italian marble topped tables from yore.
Inside, the shop is so narrow that visitors have to slip in sideways, occasionally twisting and turning to allow the waiters, juggling full tumblers, to pass.
The narrow entrance to Paramount[/caption]
But nothing seemed to deter the crowd who streamed in to the shop. Most visitors appeared to be repeat customers, ordering their favourite drink without a glance at the menu card. Even the uninitiated seemed to know that the &lsquodaab shorbot&rsquo (green or tender coconut), was the signature drink here.
&ldquoThe recipe for the shorbot, whose demand grows manifold in summer, was given to my father by Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy, the famous Bengali chemist, educator and entrepreneur,&rdquo said Majumdar. &ldquoIt was the Acharya who encouraged my father to sell this drink whose price would be low for the benefit of the students [the Calcutta University and other educational institutions being Paramount&rsquos neighbours] and yet the drink would have nutritive value.&rdquo The green coconut used to make this is specially sourced from Basirhat (a town to the east of Kolkata).
Stirred into the green coconut water are ice shavings, a flavoured syrup and a liberal quantity of the white pulp found inside the green coconut. It is customary to sip the drink, occasionally stopping to scoop out and munch on the slivers of pulp they do provide a spoon with the drink.
The water-based tamarind syrup is also a refreshing summer cooler.
Keeping the changing taste of customers in mind, Majumdar is always experimenting, innovating. For example, if you are feeling peckish and looking for a fulfilling sharbat, then try the specially concocted Passion Fruit beverage (made with the fruit added to raabri &ndash the north Indian favourite made from milk &ndash and topped with cashew, raisins and almond) or the Kesar Malai (made with raabri, milk kheer, cashew, etc.).
Apart from the milk-based range of &lsquomalai&rsquo sharbat, there is also a curd-based &lsquocream&rsquo range both available in an assorted fruit versions, including banana, orange, green mango, strawberry, etc. &ldquoIf you go through our menu, you will find most are fruit-based because we always want the drink to have some nutritional value,&rdquo said Majumdar. You may also try the Cream Lassi or the Cream Kesar Lassi, for a change from the fruit flavoured drinks.
&ldquoWe have been asked many times to open branches or offer franchises,&rdquo said Majumdar, &ldquobut we have not agreed because we will not be able to personally supervise the making of the shorbot.&rdquo But they have signed up with popular delivery apps and also offer carry-home packs.
As I finished my daab shorbot and got ready to leave, a smiling Majumdar pointed to an almost century-old writing on the wall, &ldquoIf you are satisfied tell others. If you are not tell us&rdquo. A motto that has seen the business through a hundred years. The only flicker of publicity being the later addition of two display cases showing copies of articles written on Paramount and another one high up on the wall listing the names of luminaries who visited the shop.
The information
Paramount is located in central Kolkata. Just behind the College Square park, on the same pavement as the Mahabodhi Society. The shop front is so narrow that you may miss it unless you are looking closely for it. The shop is open Mon to Sat -- from 12pm to 10pm, and on Sunday &ndash from 4pm to 10pm.
Where 1, 1, Bankim Chatterjee St, B. C. Street, College Square, Kolkata, West Bengal 700073