- HOMEGROWN WORLD
- #HGCREATORS
- #HGEXPLORE
- #HGVOICES
- #HGSHOP
- CAREERS
- ABOUT US
- CONTACT US
As part of Dewar’s Discoveries, a group of 50 mixologists explored Kolkata’s lesser-known narratives, finding creative inspiration in overlooked details and living traditions. Their visit to Soumyadeep Roy’s Studio Bari, known as ‘bipodjonok bari’, highlighted how a restored home can become a dynamic archive, shaping cocktails that celebrate the city’s culture of intellectual curiosity and experimentation.
Every city contains within it stories concealed in plain sight—waiting for those willing to look beyond the surface to discover them. These stories might be rooted in ancient crafts, artistic traditions, fading customs, ecosystems shared with nature, or communities dedicated to preserving their cultural heritage.
Earlier this year, Dewar’s India gathered 50 top mixologists from leading bars across the country for the inaugural Dewar’s Discoveries Challenge. Their goal was simple: explore India through its diverse city cultures and craft exceptional cocktails inspired by what they found. Over the following weeks, the mixologists travelled around India, uncovering lesser-known stories, traditions, and influences that shape each city’s distinctive identity.
During their journey, they found inspiration in unexpected places—in the overlooked details, living traditions, and hidden stories that often reveal the most about a city. Each encounter offered a new perspective on how place, culture, and craft are interconnected. These insights formed the basis for cocktails that reflected both the city’s spirit and its people’s creativity.
In the second episode of the Dewar’s Discoveries, the mixologists including Swanan Sarkar, Arka Das Thakur, Abhishek Mukherjee, Sushil Pant, Manan Sen, Emirinika Suiam, Deepika Shukla, Cheasong Yonzon Lama, Sandesh Subba, and Arjun Prakash visited Kolkata-based visual artist Soumyadeep Roy’s home studio, Studio Bari. A renovated family home once known as ‘bipodjonok bari’ (Bengali for ‘dangerous/unsafe building’) by locals because of its dilapidated state, Studio Bari now serves as Soumyadeep’s home, studio, and a living archive of the city’s material and cultural history, carefully curated by him over several years. At Studio Bari, Soumyadeep’s multidisciplinary creative practice offered the mixologists a window into Kolkata’s enduring culture of experimentation and intellectual curiosity. Episode 2: Kolkata is now streaming on Instagram.
Follow @homegrownin and @studiobarikolkata on Instagram.
