World T20 diary, Day 3: In Kolkata, Flurys is on everybody’s radar

Osman Samiuddin, our man at the World Twenty20, says he would not mind heading back to the teahouse if the cricket is rained off at Eden Gardens.

Flurys is an old, iconic tearoom, started in 1927 by a Swiss couple Joseph and Frieda Flurys.

Day 3: March 19, 2016, Kolkata

KOLKATA // If you visit Kolkata without having gone to Flurys, then you have not really visited Kolkata at all. This is the rule for all visitors to the city.

So on Saturday, hours ahead of the big game, I walked down to Flurys on Park Street in the centre of the city. Flurys is an old, iconic tearoom (they still do call them that in some places), started in 1927 by a Swiss couple Joseph and Frieda Flurys.

It is famous primarily for its cakes, pastries, puddings and Swiss chocolates. Ever in service of our readers, I took it upon myself to venture into this great confectionary unknown.

And I can report, readers will be glad to hear, that yes, the cakes, the pudding and even the tea is indeed worth the trek.

But I suspect, over the years, Flurys has become famous simply for being Flurys, a place by which the city can also be known. It has become a landmark: every person I asked for directions on the way over knew exactly where it was.

In contrast, on my first day, three people I asked for directions to Eden Gardens did not know quite where it was. That little unscientific test may not hold up to more rigorous examination, but it is amusing nonetheless.

And the visit actually turned out to be a necessary and much needed retreat from a day on which the weather seemed to be replicating the heat of the evening’s game.

It was oppressively humid all day, and it had already rained in the morning. But the thunderstorm at 5pm, less than three hours before the start, was the real release of the day.

By then, every inch of the outfield at Eden Gardens was already under covers. Locals were confident it would pass and not affect the game unduly. Which was a shame as I would not have minded making my way back to Flurys. In the interests of you, of course, dear reader.

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