Kolkata

In India, Biryani is not a food, it's an emotion -- in 2020, it remained the most ordered dish for a third year in a row on Swiggy. So we decided to create a Biryani Map of India that would cover even the rare versions of this iconic dish.

Tucked away in a quiet corner of Kolkata's College Street, what started as a hideout for freedom fighters is now a popular place of adda where the delicious 'dam sherbet' is served.

Kolkata's Nanigopal and Sankaracharya Maitra started Sulekha Ink during the Swadeshi movement as a way to boycott foreign stationery products. From Gandhi and Tagore to Satyajit Ray, here's how this iconic brand left a mark across India and the world.

Palash Patidar from Madhya Pradesh is a full stack developer at SuperProcure, a Kolkata-based logistics company, and earns more than your average software engineer, thanks to Newton School, an ed-tech startup based in Bengaluru. He recalls how he overcame several roadblocks to reach where he is today.

At a time when only romantic Bollywood songs were commercially acceptable, Moheener Ghoraguli was born. Led by Gautam Chattopadhyay in Kolkata in the '70s, they made music on social issues and their own lives.

Kolkata-based Sumit Agarwal launched PR Signal, a public relations firm in 2017. He talks about life with cerebral palsy, the challenges he overcame along the way, and what it means to be inclusive in India.

Samovar Tea Shop, run by 66-year-old Mahendra Singh Dhoni in Kolkata, is one of the view cafes in Bengal that still brews tea in the ancient giant copper kettle. We unravel its history and significance in the cultural landscape of the city.

Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd was launched in the 70s to provide an affordable alternative to overpriced gel pens for Indian students. Deepak Jalan, managing director and son of founder Suraj Mal Jalan, talks about how the company has established itself in both rural as well as urban India

A retired eye surgeon in Kolkata, Dr Kali Prasad Saha is nurturing more than 250 plants in his terrace garden. These include grapes, guavas and sweet limes too.

Kolkata-based Manju Devi Poddar was nudged by her granddaughter, Yashi Chowdhary, to start her own homemade food venture. Today, her tasty bhujia, Nariyal Chakki and Mava ki Parwal mithai is a hit all over the city, with some deliveries reaching Hong Kong and the USA.