An era of bakes from a kitchen in India

Kolkata's historical Jewish bakery has been around for a century... but will it last?

Nahoum & Sons in Kolkata's Hogg Market is a relic from a lost phase in the life of the city, when it was a potpourri of different peoples and cultures "" Armenian, Portuguese, Chinese, Greek, Jews.

All of these ethnic groups are now either gone from the city or fading out, but none is more endangered than the last "" only around 30 remain. Which is, of course, a very valid reason to write about Nahoum's.

But an even better reason is Nahoum's wonderful plum cakes and cheeesecakes, its delicious brownies and fudge "" ask any Kolkatan. Nahoum's other, lesser known specialities are the baklava, almond, coconut and cheese samosas, date babas, khalla bread, the caca rings.

Founded in 1902, Nahoum has been at its present location since 1916. Its founder was a Baghdadi Jew who came to the city and "found a ready market for his bakery products," says Jagadish Haldar, who's been managing the store for the past 20 years.

Nothing has changed, he informs us, in all these years, not even the display cases and the cash box.

The founder's grandson, David Nahoum, who was handed over the reins of the bakery is now 81 years old, a bachelor and currently laid low by knee-replacement surgery (his two brothers moved to the US long ago).

Enough reason for Haldar to ponder over the fate of this age old enterprise. Surprisingly, despite the goodwill and name it has acquired over these years, Nahoum hasn't expanded.

The only change, and one that is now more than a quarter-of-a-century-old, is that it no longer caters to Jewish savouries like alu makalla and mahasha.