Kolkata: Nakhoda Masjid

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A food hub

Neha Banka, April 17, 2023: The Indian Express

The neighbourhood around Nakhoda Masjid has historically been a centre of trade and commerce since the British East India Company first combined three villages in 1698 to establish the city of Calcutta, and little has changed. Archival documents of the city indicate the presence of Bengali, Marwari and Gujarati businessmen and their enterprises in the early years of the neighbourhood. As trade thrived in the area, smaller businesses mushroomed all around the neighbourhood to cater to the everyday needs of the people who were living and working here.

In 1840, the Cutchi Memon arrived from the west of the Indian subcontinent to Calcutta, a move that was facilitated because of the community’s growing trade with Burma, Ceylon, Java and Singapore. Close to a century after they first settled in the city, the community came together to establish the imposing Nakhoda Masjid in 1934.

“The mosque itself is a reference to the fact that this was a trading hub. It was built here because the people were here. Because it became a centre for business, the very first Muslim restaurants came up here,” says Sohail. Over the years, these factors also contributed to why the mosque and the wider neighbourhood became an important part of Eid prayers and the month of Ramzan.

A stone’s throw from Nakhoda Masjid are two of the several iconic eateries in this neighbourhood that have been important establishments in the city’s modern culinary history: the 94-year-old Aminia and the 118-year-old Royal Indian Hotel, both specialising in Mughlai cuisine.