Two for the road!

Paramount doesn’t need to advertise its sherbets. Ninety years in business, the shop is planning to introduce new flavours

‘Why pay Rs 20 when I can have sherbet for Rs 7 by the roadside?” asked a 40-year-old, reminding one of another gentlemen who asked the chef at Nizams, “Please put ketchup and chilli sauce in my anda roll” to which the reply was: “Please try some other shop”. One doesn’t question the quality of sherbet at one of College Street’s favourite haunts, Paramount, which is celebrating 90 years of existence. Having sherbet at Paramount reminds one of customers who sat in this tiny place over the years ~ Kazi Nazrul Islam, SD Burman... the list goes on. Much has changed around Paramount ~ old Bengali families have moved out, its rival Paragon disappeared long ago, coffee shops have opened, but two things have remained constant ~ flow of customers and the goodwill of Paramount.
The daab sherbet, cream rose, or green mango are good enough to make customers return time and again, but owners of Paramount are not taking chances. Plans are afoot to introduce three new flavours ~ passion fruit, strawberry and, perhaps, guava ~ besides talks are on with a big business house to open outlets beyond the College Street address, informs Mrigendra Mazumdar, one of the owners of Paramount.
Established in 1918 by the late Nihar Ranjan Mazumdar, Paramount originally was the meeting point for those involved in the Swadeshi Movement. Mazumdar says freedom fighters found the façade formed by bottles of Vimto convenient to discuss strategies to attack the British. Also available back then were ice creams with fruit pieces served in small glasses. The wooden refrigerator still exists in the Mazumdar household.
The sherbet Paramount is best known for is daab. Served in an “ordinary” glass with a straw and cubes of ice, the sherbet comes with shreds of green coconut meat. “My dad was a kustigir (wrestler) and a trainer. It was either in 1927 or 1928 daab sherbet was introduced (courtesy Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy) and prior to this, Paramount sold Vimto and ice cream.”
Another product Paramount sold back then were bottles of ghee gathered while preparing dahi. “One Sailen Bhattacharya used to frequent our shop for the product but the last I saw him was two or three years back.” Also taken off the menu long ago were three flavours of sherbet ~ khaskhas, chandan and magnolia. “The glasses these sherbets were sold in retained the sweet smell of every essence even after several washes. The quality of essence became inferior and hence our decision to stop these flavours. Since Durga Puja is around the corner, we wouldn’t be able to serve the new flavours in large quantities.”
One should never leave Paramount after one glass of daab sherbet, have two or perhaps three. And if you are a gourmet, walk for a few minutes to grab a few pieces of telebhaja from nearby Kaalika.

-- Mathures Paul