Half day tour of Kolkata
Wednesday, 2 September 2009
Jackie Lallieer wrote: "We met Sakir and Deepak at 9:30 for breakfast (had puli) before leaving the hotel at 11 :00. The first religion in the country was "Bora". Kolkata was the capital of India from 1857 to 1911 (is now the capital of West Bengal). The English changed the capital to Delhi. India became independent in 1947. East Bengal became Pakistan (Urdu for "land of the pure") and then Bangladesh was carved out. 30% of people are Hindu, 10% Christian (1.5 million), the rest are Muslim, Jain, Buddhist, Sikhism & Jerru. Bombay (Mumbai) is known for commerce, Calcutta is known for culture and Delhi is administrative.
We toured the Central area and observed many new overpasses. People from neighboring independent troubled countries (Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh, etc.) are still trying to find refuge in Calcutta. There are 80-90 year old streetcars still being used here and lots of tuk tuks. Mother Teresa was born in Macedonia in 1910, then lived in Albania. She came to Calcutta at age 18 as a nun to teach. In 1948 she started her missionary work here. She never saw her mother again after 1928. We saw the room she slept in from 1953 to 1997. Calcutta was formed from three towns that the East India Company bought in 1692. The French also were involved in the East India Company. We passed the house ofthe governor. THE "national" game is cricket. They have the biggest cricket stadium in the world. We saw ghat steps going into the Ganges River. Cremation is no longer allowed at the rIver.
Joining the military is optional but they do have a military college. During 1720 to 1860 the East India Company ruled all ports with Calcutta as headquarters. India is from the word "Hindustan" - Persian for Place of Hindus. The post office is 200 years old. We saw the 1950 Scottish St. Andrews Presbyterian Church. "Homeless" here has a different meaning - people
sleep next to the street because they have day jobs and rooms/housing is very expensive. They stay in the city and then send/bring money home to their villages. We visited the Kumar Alley where people were getting ready to celebrate Durga. They make statues by starting with straw, cover with mud and then paint. These are made anew every year.
We then had coffee at the Indian Coffee House, home of the largest book market in Asia. The waiters wear hats such as was worn by the Military before the English came. At 3:30 we came back to the hotel and set off again to exchange money. We went to the Indian Museum but they were closed. We had a light supper at the cafe just inside the hotel and enjoyed Kingfisher beer and pluchins (little shells filled with various things such as shrimp or chicken). "
Jackie Lallieer wrote: "We met Sakir and Deepak at 9:30 for breakfast (had puli) before leaving the hotel at 11 :00. The first religion in the country was "Bora". Kolkata was the capital of India from 1857 to 1911 (is now the capital of West Bengal). The English changed the capital to Delhi. India became independent in 1947. East Bengal became Pakistan (Urdu for "land of the pure") and then Bangladesh was carved out. 30% of people are Hindu, 10% Christian (1.5 million), the rest are Muslim, Jain, Buddhist, Sikhism & Jerru. Bombay (Mumbai) is known for commerce, Calcutta is known for culture and Delhi is administrative.
We toured the Central area and observed many new overpasses. People from neighboring independent troubled countries (Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh, etc.) are still trying to find refuge in Calcutta. There are 80-90 year old streetcars still being used here and lots of tuk tuks. Mother Teresa was born in Macedonia in 1910, then lived in Albania. She came to Calcutta at age 18 as a nun to teach. In 1948 she started her missionary work here. She never saw her mother again after 1928. We saw the room she slept in from 1953 to 1997. Calcutta was formed from three towns that the East India Company bought in 1692. The French also were involved in the East India Company. We passed the house ofthe governor. THE "national" game is cricket. They have the biggest cricket stadium in the world. We saw ghat steps going into the Ganges River. Cremation is no longer allowed at the rIver.
Joining the military is optional but they do have a military college. During 1720 to 1860 the East India Company ruled all ports with Calcutta as headquarters. India is from the word "Hindustan" - Persian for Place of Hindus. The post office is 200 years old. We saw the 1950 Scottish St. Andrews Presbyterian Church. "Homeless" here has a different meaning - people
sleep next to the street because they have day jobs and rooms/housing is very expensive. They stay in the city and then send/bring money home to their villages. We visited the Kumar Alley where people were getting ready to celebrate Durga. They make statues by starting with straw, cover with mud and then paint. These are made anew every year.
We then had coffee at the Indian Coffee House, home of the largest book market in Asia. The waiters wear hats such as was worn by the Military before the English came. At 3:30 we came back to the hotel and set off again to exchange money. We went to the Indian Museum but they were closed. We had a light supper at the cafe just inside the hotel and enjoyed Kingfisher beer and pluchins (little shells filled with various things such as shrimp or chicken). "
Labels: Bhutan
posted by DT at 10:35 AM
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