"By nature I am a traveller and an explorer who loves to travel and experience different cultures. How
they live, what they eat, how they are similar or different to us. And what it is that we all have in
common. And the worlds greatest equalizer is food. No matter who we are, food is essential to our
survival and every culture has developed its own ways of taking the same basic ingredients and
producing a variety of expressions for food.

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I have in most of my travels been fascinated by the food street, the city center of any major global
city. This has always brought about a sense of pride whenever I talk about Park Street. However, I
had always found something missing in Park Street. A proper Bengali restaurant. Each major food
street has a place where a tourist can go and easily experience the local cuisine and local culture.

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This is what inspired me to open Ilish – Truly Bong to bring the soul of Bangali culture back to Park
Street. I do not see myself as a restaurant owner. I see myself as the leader of an organization that
wants to bring back Bangaliana to the hearts and souls of every Bangali and non- Bangali in Kolkata.

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In the process of fulfilling this personal dream of mine, I get the opportunity to give fair
employment, help build livelihood and positively affect society in my own small way.I aimed to
provide an exemplary customer experience. In principle, I have tried to carry on the same even
during pandemic times, when there were scarcely any customers, but we were open every day,
supplying essential food to covid patients and providing delivery services during tough times."