Calcutta/Kolkata
My primary motive to visit was to explore the museums, heritage buildings and walk through streets entrenched in popular culture. Have visited College Street earlier, hence skipped it. The Indian Coffee House is yet to be seen and felt and taken in but that will happen some other time.
Park Street was my first port of call. In 2016 I was at the LIC Guesthouse located inside Queen’s Mansion. Grand architecture now gone to seed, yet its brilliance shines sometimes. The entrance was facing Russel Street which goes on to join the Park Street. There is a Chinese Laundry shop at the ground floor facing Russel Street with a very distinct interior and it is still run by an elderly Chinese. On the opposite side is the headquarters of ITC. Imposing but something different than modern headquarters since it is not made of only steel and glass.
Went to the Oxford Bookstore since I had heard about it in school from my English teacher. The interior was very Christmassy - fairy lights, books stacked up to look like a Christmas tree and carols on the speakers. Spent quite some time looking at books. Didn’t find much variety to be honest. Picked up two - A Murder in Shimla as a quick and light read during my train journey later in January and one classic, The Guide by R.K. Narayan. Read it in school but sort of hurried through it. Want to understand it better. Also, two sets of postcards on the city and one small pocket diary which caught my eye.
It was already 1 PM and I hurried over to Peter Cat, crossing the road and moving past Flury’s which I made a mental note to try its desserts after lunch. Luckily, there wasn’t a line outside which I was hoping for after reading many accounts. Was shown to a table meant for two. I had already made up my mind on what to order yet glanced over the menu just in case, there was room for something later on.
I tell you, no matter how many times I have gloated over Bong Eats video on Chello Kebab, none prepared me for the actual dish when it was placed on the table. Looking at it, I was wondering whether it would be enough since I had skipped breakfast. Delicious, tender, lightly spiced meat with an even better and sweeter grilled tomato made the plate heavenly! Realised then and there why so many articles have been written on it. Deserves it. A word on the interior - makes you feel as if you have transported back to the 60’s/70’s. Dimly lit with a lamp on each table and servers serving in white kurtas with red waistcoats and a turban. Amazing place. I think I was the only one eating alone. The next small group was of two men sitting across me. Reminds me of the time when I was shying away from visiting Jujus on campus.
Went to the General Post Office to visit it and also see its architecture. Massive. Exquisite. Such tall, whitewashed columns topped with golden paint at the point where it joins the ceiling and the white marble flooring gave a feeling of timelessness. Bought quite a few stamps since I haven’t sent any cards in 2020.
Walked over to Millenium Park from where a Heritage Ferry departs at 4, touring the Hooghly while taking over to some heritage sites on the ghats. Information on the internet told me to head over a bit early since tickets get over soon. I reached at 3 and the counter was already closed. It was 28th December, Monday and all museums and heritage places were closed. There is Metcalfe Hall just across Millenium Park. Closed. By this time, my body couldn’t take much, and I was exhausted.
But yes, the walk from GPO to Millenium Park took me through some iconic buildings still functioning the way they were meant to be. Telephone Bhawan, Mullick Place. Nearby tea shops crowded by harrowed looking people with a messenger bag on their shoulders, having a cup and a quick smoke before rushing into the buildings. The locals call it Office Para. The buildings were not built in the Indo Saracenic style like New Delhi was built upon. I think the style is called Neo-Classical. Touched the walls as I walked on the remnants of what should be footpaths and had dust and soot on my hands. There are dingy tea stalls, small time panwallahs crowding the area. Such buildings should be designated as heritage buildings and properly maintained because I think this is a city where one can actually touch the history which is not too medieval and is present in people’s lives still today. Abandoned my pursuit of feeling more because sadly, the pedestrians don’t command much respect in Kolkata. I think the best way to explore a place is by walking.
Came to the Indian Museum the next day. Gigantic place. The artefacts are mostly from the Buddhist-Early Mughal era. Saw the Standing Buddha statue, a unique creation from the Gandhara School of Art. Buddha is normally seen as sitting and meditating but the Gandhara region in modern-day Pakistan - Afghanistan under the influence of the Greek kings started depicting Budhha as standing and giving his sermons. Read about it during my history classes in 7 or 8 and I was surprised when it all came back to me. There are many such statues of Buddha. His face and his composure were so benign and calm, I felt as if this was real. It will make you amazed and proud of what the country was during those times. The Gupta Kings reign is known as the Golden Age of India and I saw true gold coins of the kings. Silver coins were there and bronze/copper coins were almost negligible.
There isn’t much else to see. The top floor houses the small plants and animal remains sections. There is a Geological Survey of India section at the bottom. They didn’t even update the maps from where the minerals were displayed. Some exhibits are dusty, the shelves have broken down. The maps show the year 1975. Charts are faded or are damaged by water. I was very sad to see this. This is India’s largest museum and I think this country has much more to offer. None of the exhibits is new. There is brilliance in its past. Almost all of the contributions were made by the early Europeans who wanted to discover the country and understand it until the 1850s. Compared to the British Museum, this is a very sad place. A white marble statue of Queen Victoria which was presented by the Maharajah of Burdwan on her being ‘declared’ the Empress of India stood imposing as one climbed down the steps. I couldn’t help it but there was anger towards the British, they looted things from places and now refuse to hand it back to their former colonies. Their snobbishness disgusts me and to be honest, a part of me feels happy at the prospect of Brexit. A century ago, they were ruling the world and now they are turning inwards.
I had brunch at Flury’s. Chicken Cheese Sandwich with Cappuccino and Black Forest Pastry. The food is no doubt good. I think I have had equal or better things at a lesser price but I don’t mind Flury’s much. Their decor for the End of Year festivities and the view of the Park Street though its large windows more than makeup for it. Christmas Carols were heard again. This is the second time I was hearing Frank Sinatra’s Twelve Days of Christmas (listened to it a lot in 2017 and 2018) and was surprised. Visited the H&M store the previous day and the same songs were played. Perhaps they were streaming from the same Spotify playlist.
As usual, I was sitting alone. Looked around. A loud, very affluent looking North Indian family was occupying the window table and after ordering the American or Continental breakfast, the father was quite miffed by its taste. When the waiters could not placate him, the Chef himself came out and listened quietly, not making any comments. I wondered what could be so much of a problem with taste since the trays looked good and I am sure Flury’s uses the best materials. Others were not too affected and I think were quite satisfied.
There is however one incident which I found quite amusing at Flury’s. There was a pair of mother and daughter sitting beside my table and talking in Bengali. When the waiter came to take their order, suddenly the mother switched to English and the daughter joined in asking about the combinations of breakfast available. (They ordered the American one with crispy bacon in the end). The waiter replied back in English which I am sure is a requirement in such elite establishments. The table beside me was occupied by a young woman and a middle-aged man, perhaps her father going by their looks. The woman asked him to take some photos of her and put on a smile, as she tilted her head. He took some and showed the results. They turned satisfactory since the effort was paused. All this happened in Bangla but again, when the waiter came, the order was given in English. I gave mine in Bangla since I knew that it doesn’t matter and the people working over there are all locals. I wasn’t there to impress anyone, just for having food and simply didn’t care. The Flury’s brunch did set me back by quite an amount but as I wrote earlier, for a one time visit and the environment and the pastries, totally worth it.
Got the ticket to the Heritage Cruise. Today, one was leaving at 2 and I took it. And it was beautiful! Seeing the Howrah Bridge from up close is something different entirely. You understand why this structure has come to represent the city. Rabindra Sangeet was playing softly and if I take out the overly loud Bengali aunties and one overly excited Bengali family whose father, mother and daughter were wearing oversized sunglasses and trying to take as many photos as possible at my discomfort (they were blocking my view), the cruise was beautiful.
The ferry travels upstream to Nimtola Burning Ghat and makes a turn to journey till the Vidyasagar Setu. A 1:30 hour trip. As the ferry made the turn near the crematorium, the huge chimneys came closer. Four of them and three were belching black smoke. Pran Chaye Chokkhu Na Chaye was playing now. People on the ferry were taking photos of themselves or video calling their friends. The overly excited father went to buy coffee at the back. At that point, I kept staring at the chimneys and the narrow ledge over the river which is some sort of back entrance into the place. I saw people on the ledge, holding the railing, crying while someone else was pacifying them. The dead were making their way upwards in wisps of smoke leaving their family and others with red, swollen eyes. The song is one of my favourite Rabindra Sangeet but hearing it at that time, it made me blank. The song, after all, celebrates love.
Metcalfe Hall is inspired from the Temple of Winds in Athens and was built as a tribute to Lord Metcalfe who removed all restrictions on the press in 1835. I think that’s a part reason why the publications from Calcutta can be so vehemently anti Establishment even today. While looking at The Telegraph’s headlines nowadays, I am led to believe that the paper shares its DNA with those times. The Hall, I would say is part museum, part tribute to the city of Calcutta & Kolkata. Earlier it used to house the Archaeological Survey of India and Asiatic Society’s offices. Now it is renovated and turned into something worth a visit if one wants to understand the history, the culture of Calcutta from its colonial origins and architecture to the present-day metropolis (a shabby one at that). The only equivalence of such a tribute exists perhaps in The Partition Museum, Amritsar. Both of these share similar threads and themes and I found it to be quite fascinating than the Indian Museum.
The materials and the art, the old film posters, the photographs revive the large cavernous halls. Learned a lot about the history of the city and the people in that place. I hope my images, a half-hearted effort can bring out what I am trying to convey.
My return was the next day and I had planned on visiting Nahoum’s Bakery established in the 1910’s when the city had a thriving and very prosperous Jewish community in New Market to buy some cakes. Another relic of the city which survives until today. Sweet. Dropped the plans as I realised it would be a close call to catch my train in the afternoon. Something for another day.
Reached Howrah quite early. There is a Railway Museum in the walking distance to the station and this was my final visit in Kolkata. Not quite as extensive as the one in Delhi, it was a pleasant experience. Saw a steam locomotive built in 1960 by TELCO in Jamshedpur. Had heard that Tata Motors used to manufacture locomotives when the company was established in the 1940’s and that’s how the name Tata Engineering and Locomotive Works came to be but never seen its creation from so close. Not even in Jamshedpur.
That magnificent piece of engineering and its contraptions of the wheel arrangement, wherein one can actually see the prime moving wheel as it is coupled to the secondary, brought a boyish smile to my face. I wanted to ride on it, travel and blow the whistle while steam and coal blacken my face and hands. Made a silent promise to visit Rewari before it is turned into yet another museum. I didn’t find the other engines or coaches interesting apart from the excellently preserved first-class coach named Kanchenjungha and the familiar little blue engine of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. That place is yet to be visited and I hope I can take the steam train someday. Another promise.
The trip was memorable although I realised that solo travel can be a bit expensive. Would have liked to visit a few more places but they are marked for some other day. Another companion would have been preferred but it is okay. Not complaining much.
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