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Published: January 23rd 2014
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New Market, Kolkata
A little light morning shopping! One of the oldest and madly bustling markets in the centre of Kolkata Kolkata, India: Air Asia deposited me at Kolkata Airport just after midnight Indian time, 3am my body time! I was welcomed by Vikram and 'Uncle Kumar' and they transported me away through an eerily quiet city. We stayed the night at the Nirmala Hostel, the home of the nuns of the Mother Teresa order. Clean and simple, it was a welcome brief stop over.
Vikram is the oldest son of my penfriend Viola and her husband Peter. They have just celebrated their 37th wedding anniversary. Their second son Parakram works and lives in Gujarat and their third son Sangram, along with Vikram, live at the family home in Cuttack, Orissa. Viola and I have been penfriends for 54, yeeeeees, 54 years since being 'assigned' to each other through the Baptist Missionary Society.
Vikram and I took the opportunity to go to the New Market, the old Victorian market in Kolkata city centre. The taxi ride there reminded me about India! Oh my goodness, the traffic, the cows, the chaos, the noise, the dust, the colour, the rubbish, the bustle and the incredible impossibility of it all!! The market is massive and I was taken to the oldest bakery there.
Nahoum's Bakery, Kolkata
The oldest remaining bakery in New Market. Nahoum's has that old fashioned air where one person does one job and everyone serves you. So many people. We then wandered and bought gifts and vegetables and more pastries and cakes. Soon we had to dash back to the hostel and collect our bags before the maddest taxi drive ever across the city in order to catch our train. Howrah Station is the second biggest in India, a beautiful Victorian edifice and it is FULL of people! Our six hour train journey passed well, albeit it travelling backwards, and just gazing out of the windows, seeing life, paddy fields, rivers, people, animals and houses was amazing. The 'in flight' service was a logistical triumph with meals shipped on and off at various stations and served with great efficiency by the stewards. The porter at Cuttack station actually put my suitcase on his head... it's bloomin heavy too! Sangram met us and we swung by the Chanakya Hospital to see my dear penfriend Viola. She broke her femur a week before I arrived and has been laying on her back awaiting an operation. It was postponed twice. Peter is staying with her in the hospital too. Not a hospital as
we know it....the conditions leave a lot to be desired by our standards and families have to provide the food for the patients. Peter and Viola remain cheerful and their great sense of fun and humour is a joy and it was wonderful to see them again. I got a great welcome.
Cuttack, Orissa: So the days have swung between house and hospital with an odd foray for a little shopping. I truely had forgotten how 'full on' local India is. The traffic........!!! There are no road rules....... none, honest. Cuttack streets are particularly a law unto themselves and it makes for interesting travel. Throw in dozens of random cows and packs of wild dogs, the odd goat or two, some sheep and - tad dar - you've got it. Hope some of the photos capture the sense of the place. There will be more to come, it's compulsive photo taking.
Violas operation finally took place on Monday and she is recovering well. We three pass the time together at the hospital quite happily and she has loads of visitors that are a joy to meet. Many are violas ex students - she taught
Vikram paying ....
..... For the bags of goodies we bought. Note the system, this mans job is to add up the purchases, write the invoice and take the money. Very important behind his desk! in the Stewart School for 38 years and is much loved. Viola now runs a Playschool from her home and it reopened today so it was all hands on deck to help out in her absence. The kids, and most people here, just stare at me - Flo will remember this from our last visit - so the little ones were a bit taken aback! I do stick out like a 'blonde' sore thumb everywhere but the 'boys' (Vikram and Sangram) are looking after me so well and also feeding me enormous amounts of food.
Indian living is truly 'open plan' and so the house is mainly open to the elements. I am surrounded by wildlife: being eaten by mosquitos, I sleep with a bedroom mouse and there's a lizard in the bathroom, the cockerels outside the kitchen crow early, the three dogs at home are lousy at catching the downstairs mice and there are turtles in the downstairs bathtub!!! Add to this the fact that the man from the local Mosque starts his megaphone wailing very early in the morning and you've just about captured the local scene. Brilliant, normal and a million miles from sleepy
Suffolk! Also, Indian time is extremely flexible, everything comes alive when it's dark so there is some crazy driving experiences after nightfall. The cycle rickshaws and cycle 'vans' carry the most amazing amounts of stuff and people. The auto rickshaws are the same cramming in lots of people. there are trillions of scooters and motor bikes then cars, trucks, vans, coaches, buses and lots of very colourful and long wedding processions. Oh, and the odd cart pulled by bullocks. Hoping you're getting a picture of life in Cuttack!
I'm looking forward to trips to a local museum, the local bazaar, a Bollywood film in the neighbouring big town and a shopping spree in the Pantaloons department store...... all being well. We are waiting to hear when Viola can come home which will hopefully be over the weekend. Keep your fingers crossed, hospital life is beginning to loose its charm for everyone!
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Hettie
non-member comment
Hello Pam
Hi Pam - What a great time you're having, very envious of your adventures in Cuttack! Your writing is very descriptive, a brilliant flavour of life there. Look forward to seeing you soon, sure you're enjoying your last leg of your big trip. Hettie xx