Calcutta Kebabs and Christmas Cake is set in Calcutta between 1946 and 1951, a city defined in a very unique period, poised between its identity as a colonised metropolis and the dawn of independence and partition. During these transformative years, a little girl named Zeena spent her vacations from her boarding school at Loreto Convent, Darjeeling, with her Nanna at 7 Park Lane, Calcutta, while her parents pursued higher studies in the United States. Her brother was at the time at St Paul's School, Darjeeling.
Presented in vivid vignettes, the memoir recounts life in a city of many cultures and traditions, capturing the warmth, colour, and subtle tensions of a world in flux. It portrays the deep and affectionate relationships that guided Zeena's childhood-her Upper and Lower Park Lane grandmothers, Master Moshai, and Mukmul Khala-who nurtured her understanding of love, discipline, and belonging.
Against the backdrop of Muslim Bengali, Bengali Hindu, and Anglo-Indian communities, the book explores identity, family, and the quiet negotiations that shaped everyday life. Calcutta Kebabs and Christmas Cake is a richly textured memoir that preserves the sights, sounds, and tastes of a city in transition while reflecting on the formative experiences of a child navigating change, continuity, and enduring human connections.