Our People – Calcutta Bungalow

Iftekhar Ahsan

Entrepreneur

Born and brought up in Calcutta, Iftekhar Ahsan’s inexplicable love for the city prompted him to embark upon a journey of rediscovering the dusty roads and crumbling buildings of Calcutta. While his ancestors were ‘rangrez’ or cloth dyers in Rajasthan, Iftekhar broke out of the traditional family business in order to start his own.

A graduate from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, Ahsan’s love for the city coupled with his intuition for business gave rise to Calcutta Walks, a unique idea of walking tours through the city’s heritage spots and cultural centres. Iftekhar and his team prefer to call themselves ‘explorers’ who not only find joy in exploring Calcutta, but also attempt to encourage the people around the world to do the same.

Chris Chen

Entrepreneur

Of mixed Chinese and Indian stock, Chris Chen is a serial entrepreneur with business interests spanning across India, Vietnam and Australia. His family hails from the Canton region of China and have dealt with wood since time immemorial. A die-hard Calcutta fan, Chris believes that the city holds tremendous potential and is willing to partner with anyone that helps bring that out. A perfect combination of head and heart, Chris believes in investing time and money in social businesses that make financial sense along with being good for the society at large.

Swarup Dutta

Scenographer

Swarup is a multidisciplinary art and design practitioner, educator, photographer and a scenographer who holds a masters degree in the field of Fashion & Textiles from Nottingham Trent University. A heritage enthusiast, he is actively involved in restoration of old houses in Kolkata using indigenous techniques and liberally populating them with folk art and craft.

His desire to express himself has taken him to different mediums, from scenography to styling, graphics to interiors, crafts to clothes. But photography still remains his primary passion wherein he is challenging the boundaries of image-making in India. His latest Exibition ‘Kaw’ was appreciated by audiences and critics alike.

Sam Gauri

Design Consultant

Sam is a graphic artist who contributed to the making of Calcutta Bungalow from its inception to its completion. From installing our name plaque outside of the building to dreaming up the whole brand identity of the business Sam has seen us through it all. His work can be checked out on his Instagram profile https://instagram.com/samgauri and can be contacted on gauri.sam@gmail.com

Keya Ghosh

Guest Relationship Manager

Keya will ensure that you feel welcome at Calcutta Bungalow from start to finish. A graduate of Calcutta University in Geography Honours, Keya loves to hold conversation with travelers from across the globe. The feather in her hospitality cap comes from an MBA in Tourism and Hotel Management from NIPS School of Management, Kolkata.

Tuhina Chatterjee

Guest Relationship Manager

Tuhina knows pretty well that connecting old, historical Calcutta with modern Calcutta is a challenging task. Yet this is what she loves doing at Calcutta Bungalow with travelers from across the globe. While she has trekked in the Himalayas, she is equally at home leading urban treks like no other. An animal lover and a gifted artist she is as infectious as this crazy city.

Gour Naskar

Chef

Wasim Gauri

Senior Attendant

Manoranjan Roy

Attendant

Sunil Poddar

Kitchen Apprentice

Sandeep Prasad

Attendant

Bapi Purkait

Chef

Hemant Das

Attendant

Karan Kalandi

Kitchen Apprentice

Sujit Chakraborty

Attendant

Kalpesh

2021-11-30

I slept like a baby here! There’s something magical about this stay. If you are looking for a place to be immersed in old Bengal, this is the perfect place. The rooms are beautifully decorated and the staff go beyond mere hospitality in anticipating guest needs. Kiah, Anjale and Wasim and the rest of the team served up wonderful breakfasts and doled out great advice. Don’t forget to meet Snowy and Patchy, the fluffiest cats you’ll ever see.

HappyDesiNomad

2021-11-09

Great ambience & perfect hospitality! This is the PERFECT stay if you are looking for a place to be immersed in old Bengal; the rooms are beautifully decorated and the staff go beyond mere hospitality in anticipating guest needs. Keya nd Wasim and the rest of the team served up wonderful breakfasts and doled out great advice. This is a bit far from the central shopping area, but the hatibagan night market will give you a taste of a real Bengali middle-class and migrant community, far from air-conditioned bubbles. Kumartuli is a short distance away.

Dhritiman

2021-11-05

Wah! Calcutta Bunglow We had a great stay at CB. The hosting was quite impressive, From the very beginning miss Keya ghosh accompanied us virtually with all the necessities. Full thumbs up 👍 to the team CB. Apart from hosting, we loved the ambience, it reminds us of our rich bengali zamidari heritage culture of pre independence era. Well decored & nicely curated. Each rooms has its own Aesthetic Vibes We would recommended everyone to visit calcutta bunglow once to experience the rich culture of bongs. Fooding is too great, its best in class.. Complementary breakfast 👌👌👌👌👌. Both continental & Bengali.

Rowan K

2021-10-30

Best place we've stayed in a year in India Beautifully designed place with a huge amount of thought that's gone into each detail, right down to the (working) vintage typewriters in our room. The hotel is so lovely and the food (including free tea, coffee and biscuits) so good that it would be hard to leave and see Kolkata... Thankfully the staff are lovely, super helpful, and full of great suggestions of things to do and places to explore

Shiv N

2021-10-23

A very pleasant stay, took me back in time I had taken a pit stop in Kolkata before leaving for Mumbai without much of a plan. I was mesmerised by the pics before I booked the room and after checking in, I was not at all disappointed by the decision. The property while being renovated with the new facilities maintains it old charm. Hardly we felt that we needed to venture out but to laze around whole day. We were being spoilt with coffee or tea any time, we just had to request the staff by whatsapp. The staff was super helpful and the bonus was the company of two cute cats

Arunabh D

2021-09-24

Calcutta Bungalow, turning back the clock. Calcutta of old was grand, opulent and regal. And if there was a place where the colonial and the vernacular were juxtaposed in the most unusual settings it was Shyambazar. Over the last weekend we decided to step into the glory of the past with our stay at Calcutta Bungalow, a refined boutique hotel in the heart of North Kolkata. Each room here tells a different story of an era gone by and you cannot miss the old world charm that immediately engulfs you like a warm hug as soon as you step onto the property. With its louvered windows and intricate lattice work on the verandas that adds to it's old world charm, Calcutta Bungalow is where time stands still. And if turning back the pages of history doesn't entice you enough, visit this property to experience some of the warmest people who will make you feel at home immediately.

DebasmitaBose

2021-08-15

A lovely Staycation in the City I badly needed a break from locked down life and Calcutta Bungalow was the perfect destination for that. So, along with two friends, it was a staycation for 3 of us. Booking and response were on point. We made few changes in choice of room and lunch menu and the team was prompt to modify the same without any confusion. The property was clean and especially in this time cleanliness and hygiene are the two most important aspects. Highly satisfied with that. Wasim was super cooperative and was always at service anytime and always with a smile. Service was excellent and on time. We needed an extra bed as we were triple sharing the room. Unlike most properties, Calcutta Bungalow provided a separate bed with duvet which made it really comfortable. The property believes in sustainability and it was really commendable to provide wooden toiletry kit and recyclable pens in the rooms. Food portion is good and the taste esp. of Bengali cuisine is mind blowing. Only a point to consider, portion size of Thalis are huge for a single person. So, while sending the menu over mail at the time of booking, a la carte menu for lunch/dinner should also be shared. As the check-in was at 2pm so we ordered the food beforehand over mail based on the menu shared and we had an idea that except finger food, lunch and dinner are in thali mode only. Later, when we asked we heard separate order is also possible. Overall the bungalow is a great place for a lazy staycation. The rates are on a higher side but the service is totally worth it.

Prapti C

2021-08-14

A staycation to remember This pandemic has given us enough reasons to not to travel, so we friends decided for a staycation. But we didn’t want a modern hotel, so we zeroed upon Calcutta Bungalow. The booking process was smooth, so was the check-in process. It was a staycation to remember for all the right reasons, except one. We loved the structure, the fact that all facilities are provided without demolishing the old skeleton. The vintage is maintained so aesthetically. The decor is a 100 upon a scale of 100. We were 3 people and the extra bed was taken care of equally like the main bed. The rooms were clean. The service top notch by all the employees. I have to mention Wasim, who took take care of everything so diligently and with a smile. Polite, professional, I wish him a good future. The food was nostalgic, loved the taste, a special thanks to the chef. Everything was taken care of and a decision worth it. The only misfit in the place is the lady in the reception, Anjum. I am not judging her but she is not welcoming, her personality doesn’t suit the place, you get cold vibes. We encountered an experience with her, where we were taking photos and she said that only mobile camera is allowed and not DSLR and if we do, the charges are 15k. We tried explaining her that it was our personal vacation and we weren’t there for professional work, I myself am a photographer so I know the rules or atleast I play by the rules. She said but that’s the rule. I tried to argue with her because it’s nowhere mentioned on the website. She informed that it isn’t on the website but on Facebook. But hello, why isn’t such an important information on the well updated website? Then I asked her to contact the owner, she said he is busy, so I called up his no, Keya received the call. I explained her the issue and she confirmed that we could use our DSLR cameras. If you are a tourist, I do not know where in the world you are charged almost same as professional shoots for personal photographs. And where are tourists prohibited from taking photographs apart from few monuments? To remind you, DSLRs come a long way, they are here before mobile phones. And if you have some constraints, please have it mentioned on your website and argue with some logic. This was completely illogical and unwanted. If I forget this, everything else was perfect. I hope other travelers don’t have to face any such illogical issue.

MLShie

2021-07-25

Meticulously restored property and just-right service! I would love to see more old Calcutta buildings as lovingly restored as this one has been. Every room is a work of art. There is a beautiful rooftop garden where we had a delicious Bengali dinner. The staff is friendly and responsive. The hotel is perfectly located for walking around the neighborhoods of north Kolkata, and there is even a park just down the street. We also booked Calcutta Walks for a bike ride out to the wetlands, and although it was a long ride, we were richly rewarded with the surprisingly rural feel of Kolkata's (beautiful!) natural sewage treatment plant. I live in Kolkata and booked this for a staycation -- my daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed our stay!

Natalie1204

2021-07-23

A 1920s love story This 1920s townhouse is a love story in itself. Partially restored, each of the 5 available rooms is tastefully themed and gives you a taste of the past. For the history and architecture lover, this is a taste of Calcutta at its architectural peak