By Smita Roy Chowdhury
We have often heard the saying that good food brings people together. And when that good food is biryani, it definitely does bring Indians together, even if they are living in faraway London. Add to that the fact that the biryani is served by Calcutta’s famed Mughlai chain Aminia, and you can imagine the rush it would create among Calcuttans settled in the British capital to get their hands on a plate, indulging their taste buds with the nostalgic taste of home.
Well, we witnessed the rush first hand, at the London Mahotsav 2026, a celebration of the Bengali community in the UK. The two-day cultural extravaganza lined up a gamut of entertaining events, from music to theatre, from panel discussions to fashion shows, as well as a retail zone for shopping. But the word on every lip was Aminia, and their biryanis were sold out on pre-booking, while their stall at the event saw serpentine queues through the entire two days, pervading the venue — and the entire locality — with the irresistible aroma of biryani!
Organised by Candid Communication UK, the cultural carnival on the last weekend of June was held at the Sattavis Patidar Centre in Wembley, London. The events lined up through the two days saw performances by culture stalwarts from Calcutta, as well as local achievers. The third edition of London Mahotsav — regarded as the largest Bengali cultural extravaganza in the UK — drew a footfall of more than 3,500 visitors from various parts of the country and beyond.
The festival brought together artists, entrepreneurs, authors, sportspersons and cultural enthusiasts, uniting to celebrate the shared spirit of Bengali heritage in London. Bengal’s art, music, literature, theatre, fashion, business, cuisine and heritage were celebrated through a vibrant roster of events.
t2 was in the audience and here’s bringing you moods and moments from the culture gala.
Soumitra Ray of Bhoomi and Sidhu of Cactus took the stage together briefly, much to the delight of the audience, lending a pulsating energy to the Sunday evening.
From Holud pakhi to Barandaye roddur — Soumitra Ray of Bhoomi along with his band got audience members on their feet as he belted out one hit song after another. The nostalgia notes hit high as he took people back to their college days with the Bhoomi hits.
Singer Srabani Sen lent her soothing vocals to the afternoon as she sang a slew of Rabindrasangeet and classic Bengali songs.
Folk singer Pousali Banerjee was the star act of Day One and she had the audience riveted with her high-octane performance.
Rupankar Bagchi was one of the much-awaited singers at the Mahotsav. The musical line-up also saw a performance by Tathagata Sengupta, who paid a tribute to R.D. Burman with his music.
The festival was inaugurated by dignitaries including Cllr Amer Agha, mayor of Brent; Cllr Yogesh Teli, mayor of Harrow; Neela Teli, mayoress of Harrow; Virendra Sharma, former UK member of parliament of Southall and Ealing; Sayantan Das Adhikari, founder-director, Candid Communication India and UK, and Nabamita Das Adhikari, director, Candid Communication UK. Their presence underscored the growing significance of London Mahotsav as a platform for promoting cultural exchange and community engagement between India and the UK.
A highlight of London Mahotsav 2026 was a staging of Prothom Partha, a shruti natok based on a drama written by Buddhadeb Basu. Marking the first-ever UK stage appearance together of renowned actors Kaushik Sen and Debshankar Haldar, alongside Arindam Sil, Anjana Basu and Raya Bhattacharya, the production held the audience spellbound, culminating in a thunderous applause. The overwhelming response reaffirmed the timeless appeal of Bengali theatre, making it one of the most memorable and talked-about highlights of this year’s festival.
“London is always our favourite destination. And this time it was to participate in London Mahotsav. Sayantan and his wife, Nabamita, both were excellent hosts who took care of us. And it was an incredible experience to perform the shruti natok Prothom Partha in front of a packed audience who attentively appreciated our performance with pin-drop silence, followed by standing ovation at the end. We were all overwhelmed,” Arindam Sil told t2.
The festival also celebrated Bengal’s enduring love for football through a special session ‘Banglar Derby’, featuring legendary footballers Prasanta Banerjee, Manas Bhattacharya, Bhaskar Ganguly and Chima Okorie. The nostalgic discussion revisited some of the most memorable moments from Bengal’s footballing history, delighting football lovers and evoking memories of one of Bengal’s greatest sporting passions.
Sayantan Das Adhikari, founder-director, Candid Communication India & UK, and Nabamita Das Adhikari, director, Candid Communication UK. Sayantan said: “Every year, London Mahotsav feels a little less like an event and a little more like a homecoming. Seeing thousands of people come together to celebrate the language, culture, music and memories we all cherish is incredibly moving. The love and warmth we received this year has been overwhelming, and it inspires us to dream even bigger for the future.”
Nabamita added: “One of the most heartening moments for us this year was welcoming visitors not only from across the UK but also from Norway. It reflects how London Mahotsav is gradually capturing the imagination of audiences across Europe. Watching an auditorium filled to capacity sing every word of beloved Bengali songs and witnessing the historic staging of Prothom Partha culminate in a resounding full-house standing ovation reaffirmed that the emotional bond with one’s roots only grows stronger across generations and geographies. Seeing people travel such distances to celebrate Bengal’s culture with us is both humbling and inspiring, and reinforces our belief that the festival is evolving into a truly international celebration of Bengali heritage.”
London Mahotsav 2026 also witnessed the grand finale of Matrimaa, a beauty pageant dedicated to mothers, curated by Tuhinaa Pandey. Contestants travelled from India to participate in the international showcase.
“Motherhood is a selfless and amazing experience gifted to us women, and mothers deserve to be honoured and appreciated. In 2022, I organised a unique beauty pageant which called upon all the mothers to compete for the prestigious title, Matrimaa. This is a special contest to provide a platform to mothers of all ages who get the opportunity to share their life experiences and showcase their talents. The journey is continuing successfully and in Season 5, I decided to spread it across India with auditions held in Calcutta, Durgapur, Siliguri, and Bangalore with the finalists coming to Calcutta to compete in the final rounds. I understood that the universe had more beautiful plans for the mothers this year when Sayantan Das Adhikari asked me to conduct the grand finale in London Mahotsav, which promoted the local pageant to a global one. Seven grand finalists, chosen by Richa Sharma, went to London and competed for the titles of Mother Universe, Mother World, Mother Earth, and Mother International,” said Tuhinaa Pandey. The jury panel for the pageant comprised Ananda Gupta, Nilanjana, Tarak Gorai, Antara Ghosh Sarma, and Smita Roy Chowdhury of The Telegraph.
The winners of Matrimaa 2026 are Dr Anindita Basu, Matrimaa Mother Universe, Supriti Karmakar, Matrimaa Mother World, and Dr Mala Sengupta, Matrimaa Mother Earth.
A culinary conversation featuring food influencer Indrajit Lahiri of Foodka fame, Hakka Garden’s chef Steven Lee, Rajib Paul of Hindustan Sweets, and Aminia’s Kabir Azhar and Azra Ather drew enthusiastic participation from food lovers.
“Food has always been a great leveller and a major part of any celebration in India. And for us Bengalis, this definitely holds strong. So at London Mahotsav, we spoke on the three pillars of Calcutta cuisine — biryani, sweets and Calcutta-style Chinese. The panel was graced by dignitaries featuring the food pillars and it was a pleasure connecting the dots to the hero — Cacutta cuisine — as an integral part of Bengal. Since we have a huge audience for the Foodka series in the UK, it was well accepted. Looking forward to next year,” Indrajit Lahiri, culinary storyteller, author and founder, Foodka, told t2.
The festival featured a vibrant shopping arena, with stalls from India as well as the UK offering fashion, lifestyle and culinary picks. Suta, B.N. Ghanty, and Priyontor were some of the busy stalls.
In the food segment, apart from Aminia, Tangerine added to the gastronomic experience with Chef Sandeep, Chef Rohit and Chef Sujit travelling from Calcutta to present an array of specially curated offerings. Hindustan Sweets added the sweet touch.
The festival was organised by Candid Communication UK and powered by Jac Olivol. SBI UK joined as the UK banking partner, Aminia as the food partner and Lykstage as the goodwill partner. OFFER Hospital came on board as the India charity partner.
Pictures courtesy: Candid Communication
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