O quel cul t'as!

Does this phrase "Oh Calcutta" sound familiar?

Well, you perhaps will be a little surprised to learn that, the origin of the phrase "Oh Calcutta" had nothing to do with the Indian city we are so familiar with. In fact, it never was inspired by any city for that matter. This phrase, actually originated from the title of a nude portrait by a French painter named Camille Clovis Trouille. He called his painting ( a portrait of a reclining nude shown from behind) ,"oh quel cul t'as" which roughly translates into "oh what a lovely backside/ass you have" !!!

This title - "Oh Calcutta" - was then later on used for a long runnig avante-garde theatrical revue which debuted in Off-Broadway in 1969, created by British drama critic Kenneth Tynan.

Oh Calcutta is also the title of a punk rock album from a Chicago, Illionis based band The Lawrence Arms which was released in March 2006.

There are also several restaurants by the name of "Oh Calcutta" - in Calcutta & Mumbai, which specialises in Bengali cuisine; in Sydney and Aukland, Oh Calcutta happens to be to the most popular Indian restaurants!!

I am still curious to know what inspired the restaurant's to name themselves "Oh Calcutta"?