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Published: March 20th 2009
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Kolkata: February 5th, 2009 to February 7th, 2009
I feel like I have been holding my breath for India. Everything I have experienced has no doubt been unforgettable and life-changing, but India had been looming ever-larger in front of me for quite some time. It doesn’t seem to make much sense to be so excited about one place, to look forward to one country more than any others. All the built-up anticipation culminated in me almost being unable, after about seven months of solo travel, to put one leg in front of the other and walk out of the hotel. I was actually so subconsciously nervous that I had to keep running to go pee every ten minutes on the first day.
The taxi ride into Kolkata was a suitably surreal experience. I arrived at the airport, after a 2.5 hour flight from Bangkok, at roughly 12:30 AM. Outside it was all misty or smoky- I couldn’t tell whether it was pollution or weather, and the yellow Ambassador taxis looked to me like something out of the past; all roundish and boxy, with puffy seats that are up high. The streets were largely deserted, apart from stray dogs, men
digging the road, and people sleeping on the streets. Everything seemed in disarray and disrepair. I could have landed in the Middle Ages or the Post-Apocalypse. It all looked old, run-down and dirty, and from another world. The streetlights lit it all bright as day, and we bombed along the wide, well-paved streets to the defeaning sound of stereotypically Indian music. The cabby turned it up when I said I liked it. He did, in fact, deliver me to the Fairlawn- no funny business- and woke up the gateman for me. I gratefully gave him all the left-over change I had.
Kolkata by day was just a sheer bombardment of new impressions, yet somehow not in a violent or unpleasant way. After each impression it would be ideal to just hit “PAUSE,” sit down, sip some tea, take in, and possibly discuss. However, one is instead hit with some new image or sensory stimulus, and so there’s barely time to register the first one or especially to generate some reaction- and so the day progresses until the evening’s collapse from exhaustion.
Barefooted tana-rickshaw wallahs (apparently Kolkata is one of the last places with sheer man-powered rickshaws) pulling families
of privileged Indians, dirty little children sleeping on the dirty streets, a man herding goats down the middle of the road, countless stalls serving up endless aromatic and colorful food, a park that looks more like a wasteland, mountains of rubbish, gorgeously billowing sarees of every color and pattern, toilets right on the street, never-ceasing honking of car horns, beggars beggars beggars, giant papayas glistening tantalizingly, everyone spitting monster loogies, the ever-present haze, my black nostrils at the end of the day, circling crows, splendid crumbling British-era constructions, ubiquitous red hammer and sickle flags and fliers.
I found people in Kolkata to be very friendly and helpful. I never got the rushing and rudeness that one may receive in response to a question posed on a Western city street. Everyone likes to ask where you are from. Upon hearing my reply, one man declared, “USA? But Americans do not have money to be traveling right now!” Another asked me how I am liking India. I told him I am liking it very much. “But do you like it truly or apparently?” Good question…
My first day in Kolkata was basically spent exploring and taking in, the goals being
finding an ATM and the internet. I explored posh Park St., Shakespeare Sarani, walked along the Maidan (the main park) and had my first “real” Indian food at a Bengali restaurant. It was definitely different, but pretty good, and only cost me 58 Rs. In the evening I walked along the park gardens, which have music playing, lit-up fountains, and romantical strolling couples. Despite not doing much besides walking, I was really exhausted at the end of the day. I stayed the first two nights at the Fairlawn Hotel as wisely suggested by Dad in order to “acclimatize and get my bearings” in India. It’s a real gem of an old house, built in 1783 and with that antique charm. It’s more than a little crusty, but clean and pleasant.
On day 2, I checked out all the grand old buildings in the BBD Bagh area on the way to the train booking office, where I successfully booked one to Darjeeling. I tried jalebis (bright-orange spiral-shaped deep-fried dough dipped in sweet syrup), just one of the many tantalizing snacks I encountered, but decided to give myself a bit more time before trying anything else from the roadside. Most of
the plates and bowls used for serving street food here is made entirely out of leaves and the tea cups are of unfired clay- so sustainable! Otherwise, metal plates are used and washed, which is also better than the plastic and Styrofoam in the US and SE Asia. I then continued my city trek through the Chinese Market and Rabindra Sarani area, looking at old churches and the crazy city pace. I saw dwellings constructed of rubbish and lost myself in the narrow alleys. Tried out the metro and my first thali in the evening.
I had an educational third day in Kolkata at the Indian Museum and Kali Temple. The large museum was the first to be established in India, in 1814. The museum seems to be an exhibit itself, with painfully (but comically) aging stuffed animal and physical anthropology exhibits; overly-comprehensive industrial botany and mineral collections; and a dusty and haphazard archaeology exhibit. All is dusty and contained in fascinating old display cases. The truly worthwhile exhibits were a fantastic collection of ancient Indian sculpture and coins, as well as some interesting modern paintings. In the evening I rushed off to Kalighat, possibly the source of Kolkata’s
name, to see the Kali temple. The temple itself is not necessarily remarkable but I felt like the atmosphere certainly was and it presented an interesting image of the Hindu world. Barefoot worshippers queued around the temple with flowers and other offerings, the line barely moving. Sure enough, a priest got hold of me and pushed me in through the chaotic, shoving, packed-solid crowd to see the eyes of the Kali statue. Of course there was a “donation” involved. I also noticed the spot where goats are sacrificed and later saw countless skins in the rows of market stalls surrounding the temple. Mother Teresa’s Nirmal Hriday (home for the dying) was virtually next door also.
That night I took my first train ride in India. I had a sleeper ticket for the Darjeeling Mail (what a romantic name!).
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I also have added photos from my return to Kolkata from Darjeeling, which I had to do in order to go to Bodhgaya and also because I wanted to explore the city more. I went to Mother Theresa's Motherhouse, to the Jain temples, and also to Belur Math, the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission. I have a soft spot
for Kolkata, most likely because it was the first place I visited in India. Its disgustingly dirty but still a fascinating place and I found people there very helpful and welcoming.
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Christian
non-member comment
I enjoyed reading your blog and seeing the photos. There sure are some cool looking buildings in India!