Kolkata/Calcutta India 18th to 22nd Sep

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On 18th Sep I flew from Bangkok to Kolkata (changed name from Calcutta in 2001). I was picked up in the airport by a driver in uniform, which was arranged by my friend Paritosh from London Business School (LBS). My other LBS friend Biji came and greeted me in the airport, but had to leave as his son was in hospital. It took about 45 min to get to Paritosh’s apartment/palace. I spend the afternoon relaxing and played football in the garden for two hours with their two sons and three of their friends. In the evening we relaxed and had dinner.

Paritosh had taken the day of work on 19th and we decided to go and be tourists, as Paritosh had not really seen Kolkata. It was our plan to take a river cruise, but there were no boats going, unless we rented our own cruise ship, which we decided against. Instead we headed to the Victoria memorial, which was build to commemorate Queen Victoria’s 1901 Diamond Jubilee. There was an excellent exhibition upstairs about India’s fight for independence.

In the evening Paritosh and I decided to go out and have a few beers. He took me to the oldest pub in Kolkata, which is extremely basic but so full of atmosphere and packed. After a few beers and dinner we headed to a trendier bar with live music. I had borrowed trousers and shoes from Paritosh as there was a dress code. About 1am we went to a night club. There was a stunning Indian girl in the club that it was hard not to look at….But it was obviously not my lucky night, as after about 30 min a gay bloke came and asked me for a dance - I politely asked him to piss off! This has never happened to me before and I blame Paritosh’s shoes!!! We laughed a bit about it.

The 20th was a day of low activity as we were suffering a bit from the night before. We watched the movie “Cleaner” on DVD, which was really good, but with a disappointing finish. In the evening we all went to the golf club for dinner and drinks with some of their friends and children. When it closed we all went back to their flat for more food and drinks and ended up chatting till about 2.30am (Paritosh fell asleep on the sofa).

On 21st we went to the cinema to watch a Bollywood movie. Despite not understanding Hindi, I managed to work out what it was all about. After the movie we went back to their friends for some late lunch. In the evening we went to Biji’s place for dinner. It was good to see that his son was out of hospital and well again. I had never meet Biji’s wife and family so it was nice to meet them all and catch up with Biji. They had prepared a lot of nice food and we went for a walk before dinner to ensure we had a big appetite.

On 22nd Paritosh and I got up early to go for a walk at 7am in the old colonial part of Kolkata with a guide. It was a 2 hour walk and it was really interesting. We were pleased we had a guide, as we would have missed 75% of the things he pointed out about the buildings. The guide was so good that I hired him for another walk in the afternoon to show me the cultural side of Kolkata. In the evening Paritosh took me to the train station to catch the 23.30 night train to Gaya.

It was really nice to visit my two friends from LBS and spend some time with their families. Their hospitality was 10 out of 10 and I hope I can return it to them one day in Europe. Thanks Biji, Paritosh and your families.

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Photos

I love these cars
There is something about the Ambassor car

Walking
In the park with Biji and Paritosh's wifes.

LBS friends
With my two LBS friends that live in Kolkata.

I love this sign
It was taken in the old Colonial part of Kolkata and still sell arms.

Hand drawn rickshawns
Kolkate is one of the few places where hand drawn rickshaws are still used