BUILDING AND THE ENVIRONS

Colonial architecture cloaked in white. An obvious hangover of the 'Raj'. High ceilings, giant columns, latticed windows, conical verandahs with iron balustrades and an exquisite porch.

Housing a cafe and a fine dining area (both mutually exclusive), a music room and a terrace garden with a sit-out.

THE INTERIORS

Celebrating Indian chic, the interior decor and the holistic ambience is one of retro Indian pop art. Eclectic and versatile, the spectrum ranges from rustic kitsch to Bollywood melodrama in the ground level housing the music room and the cafe to comic strips and contemporary industrial minimalism at the fine dining level.

What strikes one at first glance, is the harmonious balance of warm wood with cold metal, neon lights and monochrome graffiti, chandeliers made from broken wine bottles to enameled plates with artwork.

ART AND THE ARTIST

The mood created by the myriad art and installations at Jhaal Farezi only adds to the versatility of the cuisine it serves. While Rajasthani appliques of 90's Bollywood songs scream from the walls in the Music Room, jute poofs and barber chair seating in the bar (mocktail) area is a close call to the city's industrial past. The Cafe's walls have framed tongue-in-cheek posters inspired by salacious Bhojpuri songs graphically shown by street art of old Calcutta - the naive Kalighat Patt style.

ARTWORK AND INSTALLATIONS

While age-old Bengali comics of Batul the Great and Nontay - Fontay adorn the banquet halls, the main staircase has an artwork of neon letters on multi-coloured wooded platter that echo Ghalib. The first level (fine dining) has formal colonial design chairs juxtaposed with modern minimal design furniture with the walls telling a short illustrated story of a Bengali guy called Mr. Mazoomdar.

In the Drama Queen room, the tables are rustic in essence and the chairs have on them Murshidabad's geometric kantha upholstery, while still another room on this level has photographers of torn posters which adorn the city walls giving it a true connect with the sentiments of the City of Joy.