Calcutta- Day Two

Calcutta- Day One

Calcutta, in Postcard Nutshells.

Day Twenty Three

Today we woke at 3am to catch a flight back to Mumbai. With heavy hearts, we packed in our toothbrushes and set off when it was still dark outside. Sleepily, we looked out our windows as we drove past the places we had visited, stopping to smile at each other knowingly every few moments. 

After sleeping through the flight, landing in Mumbai (it was 26degrees outside), loading into a bus and getting to the airport, we collected our luggage and headed toward the Arrivals gate. There, as we walked out, I saw my sister excitedly waiting to pick me up. Seeing me, she jumped off the divider and ran toward me- her open hair flying behind her. She gave me a warm hug that squeezed the breath right out of me. In that moment, I wasn’t sad to have left Calcutta anymore. 

“Your hair looks nice, Ilu.”

“Thanks. I had a bath yesterday.”

I don’t have a picture of her, so here’s my attempt to sketch it.

Day Twenty Two

Today, we went to a lake near Gol Park in the evening. It was full of still, green water- covered with algae. It was bordered in by the beginnings of a water hyacinth bloom.  There were people rowing streamlined kayaks in the lake. We sat by the lake for a while, thinking of the past few days. Today was the last day of our trip to Calcutta and we watched in ready nostalgia as the sun set behind the water birds. 

Although we wished for a few more days and although we didn’t want this trip to end, we were happy, in that moment, that it had happened. 

Here’s to Chikoodle Sayndo.

Day Twenty One

Today was all about Chikoo and me. No friends or family. Just the two of us. And it was a wonderful day.

We visited North Calcutta and went to College Street and Coffee House. After a mediocre cup of coffee and highly questionable onion pakodas at Coffee House, we walked around for some street food lunch. We had veg chowmein, puchka and finished with a very refreshing glass of chilled nimbu pani (lemonade). Re-hydrated and full, we went around taking photographs. The rest of the afternoon was spent roaming the streets and lanes, taking pictures of the people, the roads, the shops, lanes, colourful doors and each other. Chikoo and I are very similar people. We like the same things, we discuss the same things, we wear the same clothes (yes, we were in identical shirts today) and we enjoy the same food. However, there's something subtly different about us. This could be simply illustrated by the fact that we both almost always wanted to photograph the same thing, but we'd compose our photos very differently.
We finally stopped our photo walk when our legs began to gave way and we just couldn't walk anymore. We took an auto to the station, a metro and then got onto a mini bus to get home. Confused about which stop to get off at, we got off a little earlier than we had to and walked from a place we recognized. Along the way, we sat down on the pavement to soothe our tired feet. There we sat and spoke for over an hour. We spoke, shared views, asked questions, gossiped and laughed. We didn't realize how long we'd been there until the light began to fade. We got up and walked arm-in-arm back home.

Today was beautiful because I spent it with a dear, dear friend who I hardly ever get the chance to be with anymore. Our lives have lead us down very different paths and have lead us away from each other. The days when we'd spend all day in class together and long evenings studying together or simply talking are behind us. Sometimes I forget what it was like to be so spoiled, to have a best friend so close within reach. And I forget how wonderful it is to have that. Today reminded me of those days and made me happy because I was now making some more memories to add to our existent treasure. There really is nothing like the warmth from basking in an old friend's frienship.

My picture for today is the one photo that both of us composed exactly the same way. Perhaps it means something.

Day Twenty

Today, we went to Park Street again where we had lots of good food. We were then to visit North Calcutta. On our way to the metro station, we noticed a small bookstore called 'Earthcare Bookstore'. We went in to find white wooden doors open out to a tiny bookshop. Inside was the most contemporary, varied collection of books. We ended up spending over an hour in there, which made us shift our plans to the next day. We went on to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening around Gol Park. The pavements there were lined with second hand book shops. We spent all our time there with our noses buried in books, moving slowly from one vendor to the other. We even took a small break to have chai (tea) which was served in tiny earthen pots. The day was serene and literarily (if that's a word) exciting.

My picture for today is of one of these book shops. From here, I unearthed two P.G. Wodehouse books and a Gerald Durrel.

Day Nineteen

Today was my first day in Calcutta. I roamed around with Chikoo, a friend of hers and three of his friends. We visited New Market, Park Street and ended up at Princep Ghat which was on the banks of the Ganges, near New Howrah bridge. We took the metro, auto rickshaws and cabs- not to mention the amount of walking around. I tasted Puchka- which deserves a blog post of its own.

At Princep Ghat, the six of us took an hour long boat ride in the river. It was slow and quiet and calming. All we could hear was the distant chatter from other boats and an occasional bird that flew overhead. Some time into the ride, I lay flat on my back and looked up at the sky. I could now feel every little wobble from the boat over the water. I felt like my body was moving over the waves directly. I felt the river, the water. I felt unsteady, vulnerable and relaxed. I closed my eyes soon after and enjoyed the gentle movement and peace. It was beautiful.

My photo for today is my view from when I was lying down, experiencing the Ganges- the blue evening sky.