On one of our walks, we stopped for tea from a streetside chaiwallah. In Calcutta, they serve the street chai in clay cups which you smash after you've drunk them. They explained that the boiling tea in the disposable clay cup is free from any bacteria. This chaiwallah spikes his tea with strong coffee - Sophia was a big fan.
September and October are the height of festival season in the Indian calendar. Loud music pulses from the streets surrounding our home as I'm writing. We had missed an actual immersion of Ganesh while we were in Mumbai, but we did witness local people in Calcutta immersing their god of infrastructure. The parade and the immersion was quite social and had a very celebratory nature.
The watched the immersions just upriver from one of Calcutta's many bridges, along a riverwalk quite popular with young lovers.
Calcutta's New Market is another city landmark, and sells an amazing assortment of items. From dry goods featuring colorful jars of spices and bright buckets of lentils and legumes, through a cavernous butcher hall, and to a range of flower stalls, jewelry shops and bakeries.
To be quite honest, I found the city a bit overwhelming. We explored with guides every day, which helped us to see the beauty, the heritage, and the remarkable around every turn. This left me wondering if any of those would have risen to the surface had we tried to explore on our own. That Calcutta would be difficult for a novice to explore on foot should not label the city, but it certainly colors my memories.
No comments:
Post a Comment