Every year, the advent of winter brings in a plethora of exhibits and cultural dos in the ‘City of Joy‘, each one trying to better itself than the preceding year and a selected few trying to stand out by introducing innovative concepts.
But this year, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all the concerned exhibition brands are either skipping their annual event or organizing it online!
Though just out with two editions till now, The Earthy Saga is one such food & lifestyle exhibit that works on different concepts and last year they exhibited as a Floating Flea Market at Calcutta Boating & Hotel Resorts Pvt. Ltd. from 27 to 28 Dec.
Around 75 stalls present therein showcased – organic food, indoor & outdoor gardening, fashion & accessories, home decor, natural skin care, kid’s zone, pet’s corner and food stations, alongwith a live band!
Today, while going through some old pics from this event, I recalled the lovely invitation hamper, hospitality and guided tour of the open air exhibit by the management and I was prompted to pen a blog post about the same, as I still had a lot of unpublished pictures left with me.
To start with, my lovely invitation hamper comprised of –
– artisanal chocolates from Crafted Cacao
– almond delight from Library of Nut
– cold beverage from Bebber – the street cafe
– green tea – Indian holy basil from The Hillcart Tales
– rain forest microgreens by Pooja Agarwal
Upon arrival, I was warmly received by the curators of the event aka Dipti Khaitan, Priyal Loyalka and Sradha Rathi.
Left to right: Sradha Rathi, Prity Poddar, Dipti Khaitan and Priyal Loyalka
I had a whale of a time circulating around the exhibit, meeting old and new associates, checking out assorted healthy foods and innovative lifestyle products, enjoying the live band, feeling the gust of wind when standing near the water body and absorbing the vibration of the well dressed and happy crowd.
The food stalls that caught my attention were –
– Bhola Litti Centre by Bhola Kewat and team from Ranchi, Jharkhand – an iconic 30 plus years old ultra popular food service famous for their Littis with Chokha and Tomato Chutney.
– Samsor Bann’s dry fruits from Afghanistan comprising of an assortment of Afghan dry fruits, like – green raisin, dry apricot, almond, walnut etc. and Afghan saffron.
– Crafted Cacao’s artisanal chocolates displayed in multiple rows of square bars and attractively colored balls. Lavender, bubblegum, jasmine and mandarin were some unusual and interesting flavors on display.
– The Good Oil Co. with amazing range of cold pressed oils, like – sesame, coconut, almond etc. This stall also had disposable utensils that can endure the heat and freeze of oven and freezer respectively.
– The Baklava Box with it’s assortment of delicately crafted baklavas, like – gulkand and date ladoo, mixed dry fruit tart, pyramid baklava etc.
– Masala Ka Dabba, a food enterprise by a chefling Pratyush Saraf, one of the two east zone toppers at IIHM Young Chef India Junior 2019, dishing out Tandoori Sushi, Chole Bhature and Desi Shawarma! All the dishes were conceptualized and cooked by him.
– Cold beverage like iced tea, basil shikanji, cold coffee etc. from Bebber – the street cafe wherein the beverages were sans any preservative and artificial cooking agent.
– Artisanal cheese & rustic bakes by Meraki with an impressive menu and open tasting platter of artisanal cheese. The ones that invoked my curiosity were – halloumi cheese (herbed), charcoal valencay and pepper jack.
– Healthy grains and organic produces by Pink Harvest, like – tri-color quinoa, moong, edamame spaghetti noodles, ready-to-eat chipotle quinoa etc.
The lifestyle stalls that caught my attention were –
– Tillo Hediyelik’s artistic lamps and show piece which were delicately crafted and extremely vibrant and colorful.
– Maison D’lara’s exquisitely crafted wooden trays and photo frames with thin golden color metal engravings.
– Thought provoking artworks by Srishti, specially the ones made with pen, black ink and dry leaves.
Something totally different that caught my attention was –
– Pet Corner by Woodhouse, wherein I met rabbits, ducks, chicken, guinea pigs, hamsters etc.!
Designed primarily for children, so as to increase their affinity towards pet animals and keep them occupied and in good mood while their guardians were touring the exhibit, it was equipped with good hygiene and safety protocols and allowed paid entry to limited children at a time.
All in all, The Earthy Saga 2.0 was a well curated and bustling with crowd exhibit, with good arrangements.
Vegetarian Food And Reviews 