Cowboy Caleb the liberal arts, grown-up stuff & random mischief

Cowboy Caleb Visits Kolkata, India - Day 1: A City Evolved From Markets

Notes Before We Begin:
Cowboy Caleb packs a suitcase for all seasons and heads for an adventure in this land of mindblowing contrasts, standing at the edge where yesterday meets tomorrow in the magical city of Kolkata, previously known as Calcutta The City of Joy.

Note: This travel article was actually researched and written in Nov 2005, but was never published due to various issues which shall not be discussed here. It will now be published online in its entire original and unaltered length in 4 parts for the first time.

Cowboy Caleb wishes to thank the Mrs Alka Kohli from the India Tourism Board for making all the necessary arrangements for him to experience Kolkata in all its myriad sensations, sights and sounds.

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From Kolkata Day 1…

In this British-style pub, I lean back on the plush leather seats and sip my gin & tonic. The manager walks up to me and serves me breadsticks with yogurt. He whispers into my ear that a winter wear fashion show is about to begin. After a spell, young gorgeous women in skimpy sarees that reveal more then they hide at strategic locations of the human anatomy sashay across the breadth of the pub and pout before disappearing. Must be a rather bizarre winter that comes here to Kolkata, but I sure am not complaining.

“Welcome to Kolkata!” says a bespectacled man greeting me at the airport just before he stuffs me into a cab to the hotel. I have arrived with absolutely no idea what to expect because it’s my first trip to India. In fact, I had initially thought Kolkata was in Indonesia, and then realised it’s a cool way of spelling “Calcutta”.

I have come here to go native in Kolkata without any prejudice. I took every precaution I knew how to, including packing my Speedos just in case. Just before the plane took off, I made a bargain with the Higher Being for safe passage to India – in exchange I would only eat local food for the duration of my stay. No McDonald’s would pass these lips.

I needn’t have worried – no McDonald’s exists in Kolkata.

My bespectacled welcoming committee is 74-year-old Bengali former-history-teacher-now-guide, Santimoy Bhattacharya (he has been guiding tourists for 40 years). Hurt in a Himalayan mountain-climbing incident last month and now wielding a cane for support, his infectious passion for his native city makes him more alive than I feel right now in my jet-lagged bones..

“What I would like to do is hypnotise you,” declares Santimoy with a wide smile. “That is my job – to make you love Kolkata as much as I love it!” At the back of our car sits Mrs Alka Kohli, Regional Tourism Director (East) who is tagging along for the trip and asks that we pretend she isn’t there. What strange company I seem to be keeping…

Day One: Markets and Cafes

We sit in the romantically bourgeois café known as India Coffee House along College Street and sip cup after cup of its terribly delicious black infusion coffee, while below us, booksellers that line the entire street hawk their wares, and all around us, the intelligentsia of the city discuss politics, philosophy, art and the ever rising price of fish.

Entrance to the Flower Market

Kolkata evolved from its markets, with traders from all over the world arriving to trade in silk, cotton, indigo, opium, ivory and jut in the early 17th century. Sections of the city are devoted to only one particular item. This is strange but true. You will find entire streets dedicated to only one product. The locals say it makes it easier to locate what you want. There is the Phal Pati Fruits Market, where I had to walk on streets strewn with straw and fruits, and jostle with traders from all over India who arrive in gaudily decorated lorries to auction off their produce in shouting matches.

Then there is the wholesale flower market, where myriad garlands of colourful flowers can rise 300% on auspicious days that spark weddings and festivals rushes!!! This is where I met a women selling flowers who told me that she lives in a shanty so that her son can study in an English medium school to become a doctor one day…

People Bathe In The Waters Of The River Hooghly from the Armenian Ghat

After being pushed and prodded, I stumbled upon the Armenian Ghat (a platform with steps descending into the river) on the banks of the river Hooghly where people descend from the Ghat into the river to bathe in the holy waters. Don’t miss the pigeons who are fed a special grain (that costs donors INR1, 200 (SGD44) a day) every morning at the Ghat.

The Koley Bazaar vegetable market is an extremely busy place. My guide gently brings my attention to a group of steel-necked laborers lifting loads of up to 200kg on their heads. The veins on the back of their neck bulge and pulsate like writhing snakes.

Strangely, a Wedding Card market also exists to cater to the Indian tradition of conjugal grandeur required to announce that this son of such parentage is marrying that girl from such a family. It can take up to 3 days to find the perfect wedding invitation card. The cards are come in all colours, are lavishly decorated, have embossed gold trimmings and feature illustrations of Hindu gods. Once the cards are selected and an order is placed then the words can be chosen to be printed.

An artisan making idols at The Kumar Tuli Idol Maker Colony

At the Kumar Tuli idol maker colony, artisans fashion idols from wooden structures, straw and river silt. Idols of Indian gods, Buddha and Jesus sit side by side on the table of an artisan. Kolkata is notoriously famous for being religiously tolerant. After a spiritual awakening in the early 1900s by Swami Vivekananada, most of the locals believe that all religions lead to the same goal and therefore utterly pointless to debate about.

The Bengali Sweet Known As Pati Sapta

My guide asks the driver to slow down, and directs my attention to a narrow alley. Inside, whores dressed in shabby but brightly coloured sarees stand huddled by the walls. Later while we enjoy traditional Pati Sapta sweets at a snack shop just outside the red light district, I am warned never to visit the red light districts of Kolkata because they do not welcome foreigners. I listen half-heartedly and ask to try the rest of the delicious traditional Indian sweets.

The Interior Of The Favourite Cabin Cafe

After about 10 minutes on the road, we stop again – this time to visit a shabby and rundown cafe called Favourite Cabin. Founded in 1819, the Indian revolution leaders would meet here to plot the downfall of the British. When the police came, the owner, Mister Badal Barua would sound the alarm by hitting the side of his teacup with a spoon and the leaders would quickly disappear through the back. I shook hands with him, an old man with a clear memory who shared his stories of brave deeds in days gone by. Pity I don’t speak any Bengali.

Coming Up Next: Kolkata Day 2 - Footprints Of Different Nations

I hope to visit India as well…can’t wait for the next entry…Interesting!

Power de mah. What sights!

Very informative and well written entry you have here. Keep it up!
I want to go to India too. Does their curry really taste that good?

Actually, apart from some Fish curry (Only the Bengalis in Kolkata eat fish), I had mostly dahl. Other food (part 3,4) were definitely not curry. Gastronomically, I had a great time and didnt once get a tummyache

oh man! sounds damn interesting! i wanna go and dance with the bennylavas!

No tummyache? Seriously. That’s GREAT.
Man, I should start savin’ for a trip over there!

i spent one month there. it was a whole new experience. the the traditionals sweets were nice! something that i miss when i’m back here.

cowboy caleb’s picture with glasses reflecting shows him so tensed up, hardly a satisfied tourist. he thanks alka kohli, could he not include her picture anywhere, a pleasant dedicated tourism officer serving the tourists and her country. cowboy caleb’s article otherwise is okay.

i want to see sex bazars of kolkata

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