2 India

Day 3 – Kolkata sightseeing

I was woken up at 5.30 by some very noisy crows. Apart from them, the city was asleep, recovering from the revelries of the night before and enjoying the leisure of the New Year’s holiday. We had time for an unhurried breakfast, which included another tasty curry.

We did not realise until later in the trip, just how fortunate we were in our timing with the New Year's holiday, because there was hardly any traffic. This was the most intensive sightseeing day of the whole trip and, at first, superficially resembled many city tours as we travelled around on the bus, intently looking out of the window while various important buildings were pointed out to us. I tried to take notes, but the sights came thick and fast and the bus was very shaky so it was difficult to write. So please forgive any errors.

In addition to seeing the sights of Kolkata, we were also given a brief history and geography lesson. Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) is the largest city in the region and by far the largest port, sitting on the River Hoogli. We were told that its population of 13m (increasing to 18m during the day) was 70% Hindu, 20% Muslim and, among the other faiths, included 54 Jews or less, down from 5,000 before Independence and all elderly. Despite their small number, they enjoy the largest synagogue in Asia which, unfortunately, was not included in our visit, or perhaps we drove past it and I was too busy writing or looking the wrong way as it is just to the north of the BBD Bagh.

Kolkata was just three small villages before the British came to India and built their imperial capital. We therefore headed to the BBD Bagh area near which are many of the Raj buildings, now used by the West Bengal State Government which, we were told, was the only elected communist government in the world. On the way, we passed a statue of Gandhi, a WWII memorial, the Eden Garden Cricket Stadium (used for test matches) and the first radio station.

The BBD Bagh, formerly Dalhousie Square, is named after three freedom fighters or Bengali martyrs who fought for independence against the British. There were statues of several freedom fighters, including one who was only 18 years old when he was hung.

The bus was not allowed to stop, so we drove round looking at the government buildings, which looked suitably imperial and imposing. Even the Post Office, with its white dome, was very impressive.

Memorial to Black Hole

We were finally allowed out of the bus to explore the cemetery of St John’s Church. The cemetery contains the mausoleum to Job Charnock, who was in charge of the East India Company Warehouse and the founder of Calcutta in 1690. It also includes the monument to the Black Hole of Calcutta, which was moved from the BBD Bagh in 1940.  As we were standing by a memorial, I heard a squawk and got a fleeting glimpse of parrot.  No chance of a photo, but I did take one of a ground squirrel who looked very cute with stripes down his back.

I waited outside while the others went into the church and chatted to some children who were enjoying the break from school. They were called Rahul, Kamal, Banjhu and Karina.

Then back on the bus for a drive to the flower market. We passed the huge red Writers’ Building, formerly the offices of the many clerks of the East India Company. We also saw several temporary temples left over from Divali, some already being dismantled.

River Hooghli and Railway Station

Before entering the flower market, we stopped to look at the Hooghli, which is a very wide river. People were swimming there and I snapped someone emerging from the river carrying a rubber tyre. It looked as though he had been having fun. Just across the river we could see Howrah Railway Station, one of the largest in the world, currently with 22 platforms. We were also standing very near to the Howrah Bridge, a remarkable cantilever suspension bridge. Fortunately, the Japanese did not get close enough to Calcutta in WWII to warrant the planned destruction of the bridge. Nowadays it is still seen as a potential target and we were instructed not to take photos when we finally got onto the bridge. Jackdaws were everywhere and the ornate structure of the buildings made good perches.

Flower Market



Asif, our guide, said that the Kolkata flower market was very important and exported far and wide, including to the Netherlands. Unfortunately, flowers need to be sold when fresh so most of the day’s business was long over by the time we arrived and we did not see much. Most of our walk through the market was spent looking at our feet as there were lots of puddles and rubbish and things you really did not want to step into. When I could look up, there were lots of the orange flowers ready to make into garlands, and the porters impressed with their deceptive strength. I saw one elderly man carrying two very heavy sacks on his head

Kolkata had woken up by the time we emerged onto the busy bridge at the other side of the market. The traffic was quite frenetic with cars coming from every direction and hooting all the time. We just followed our guide and hoped for the best. It was very hot so really nice to get back on the air-conditioned bus.

Jain Temple

The next stop was the best of the day as we visited the Jain Temple of Parashnath Mandir, built in 1867. The temple and its surrounding buildings and gardens were very ornate with lots of pastel colours, glass, mirrors and flowers. It was very beautiful and, despite being highly decorated, seemed very appropriate as a place of worship. First, I looked at the garden, of which one side was a pond with pink railings, sculptures of flower vases and of people and fountains. Looking towards the temple, there were small circular lawns surrounding large flower pots and a fountain decorated with birds, including ducks and herons. There were marble seats for people to enjoy the tranquillity and more statues.

I took some photos of the garden and someone took one of me. I looked terrible, especially my legs which might have belonged to Norah Batty but without the wrinkled stockings. My toe and ankles felt really uncomfortable and the photo shows how my ankles were really swollen after the long flight. That had never happened before and was a bit worrying.

Then we were allowed to enter the temple which was even more beautiful. There were many worshippers as well as tourists. I always feel like an intruder in places of worship, but this temple seemed to invite people to just come and stare. People were tending the pictures in the temple and two vases were signed as having been donated by the Dalai Lama.

Kali Statue Maker



Divali might have been over, but there was no time for the Kali statue makers to rest as they had to replenish their stock. There is one place in Kolkata which makes the statues for the whole of India and that was our next stop. The statues are not limited to those of Kali, but include elephants for Ganesh, tigers and other gods. They are formed from a straw base and then covered with clay. The many sparrows certainly appreciated the bundles of straw as they rummaged for food. I especially liked the elephant statues. A lot of care went into their construction and the clay was scratched to give a more realistic surface. People seemed to live in their stalls. In one, an elderly lady was asleep on the counter while a young boy sat on the counter opposite to watch TV.

Our next stop was lunch. The restaurant was good. I used the toilet which was clean and fully equipped – a good sign. The curry, though pleasant, was not as hot as the one at breakfast so was a bit disappointing. I had another lime and soda. There was a young waiter who was being very attentive, but then he started to mention “tips”. Despite that the meal was only Rs330, which was very reasonable.



Victoria and Her Monument

Then on to the Victoria Monument. Apparently this is made from the same marble as the Taj Mahal but was painted black in the war to disguise it from Japanese bombers. Although the black has been removed, a stain remains so it does not have the same sheen as the Taj. The monument is situated in a park, dominated by a large lake. To reach the monument, you have to walk across a bridge over the lake and past a statue of an elderly Victoria seated on her throne. On the base is a frieze of soldiers and elephants marching. After a short talk, we were allowed to explore the area by ourselves, but not before I had spotted another squirrel. Bob joined me and remarked that statues of Victoria were all of her as an elderly woman and he would like to see a younger version. Together we walked round half of the lake. There were lots of mynah birds and I took a photo of one particularly co-operative bird. There were lots of police around as we left and I nearly got into the prison van as it was the same colour as the bus!

Our final stop of the tour was the Kali temple. On the way there, we met up with Rafeeq and Sue who had been ill with a dodgy tummy. My last photo of the day was of a goat who was eating some leaves. I thought he was being naughty, but he was actually enjoying his last meal before being sacrificed at the temple. Fortunately, we did not have to take our shoes off to enter the temple as the ground was filthy. As non-Hindus we were not allowed inside the shrines. Rafeeq said that the shrine of fertility was unique in India because it was tended by a female priest and the role is passed down from mother to daughter. We walked past the place where sacrifices were done and saw a dog asleep with his nose in the blood. This could have been from the special buffalo sacrifice done for the festival the day before.

Then we returned to the hotel. The traffic was so bad that we had to walk the last bit. We met up for our briefing at 6pm. Rafeeq gave Mike, who lives in Denver, a present because it was his 10th tour with Explore. Then we went to the hotel bar. It was chaos as everyone wanted to pay for their drinks separately. India is famous for its clerks and paperwork. In the bar, an invoice needed to be produced in duplicate for every transaction and that really slowed things down. Rafeeq took us to the Blue Sky restaurant for dinner. It is in all the guide books but the meal was very disappointing. They accidentally gave one of my curries to Mike and the dahl I had was horrible. Ken, Mark, Bob and I had a drink back in the bar and then we all went off to bed.

Animal Corner



Squirrel

Mynah












And finally - the Sacrificial Goat enjoying his final meal