I am shocked.

Mocambo, the legendary Calcutta eatery to which I have never been to, which might even be the single most Instagrammed place in the city, a favorite haunt of people who refer to themselves as “foodies”,  has been accused of not letting a working man, a driver of a car, enter the restaurant as a patron, because the powers-be considered him not appropriate for the establishment, based on his station in life. This has led to the usual social media cycle of outrage, of people downvoting a Facebook page which was not the restaurant’s, and of news media passing statements of  doubtful provenance as ” the official” franchise response, and of shares and comments and Whatsapp messages and other forms of digital mayhem.

As I said before, I am shocked.

Not at the alleged behavior of Mocambo, but by the fact that so many Calcuttans have gotten over feudalism. Based on assertions made in social media spaces, Calcuttans, without fail, sit with their hired help on same couch, eat at same dinner table using same utensils with the maid at the same time, and sleep on same bed with driver, only one of the above which I made up. It seems from the universal outrage, that Mocambo is the only place left in Calcutta when a driver would be denied a place at the table, and that the reason Mocambo did it was because they were behind-the-times, not because they felt their other patrons would be offended.

I am shocked. Because, based on what I see on Facebook and as we know people always say the truth there, Calcutta has definitely evolved from what I knew it to be,  its once deep schisms between bhodrolok and chotolok gone to be replaced by a hunger for Likes and absolute egalitarianism.

Save that one restaurant that serves pepper crab devilled.

I indeed am shocked.