Calcutta

As usual, when travelling, time passes by very fast. It would be good to have that in normal daily life….
However, the night train to Calcutta was late – as expected. Well, the bad fog again. But, at least, it was only 2 hours. Indeed, two extremely cold and windy hours in Varanasi railway station. There was a very nice railway official waiting with me. If it comes to trains delays, the rail often changes tracks in the last minutes before arrival. And from experience, the official told me, he knows that foreigners do not understand the announcements in the railway station… How true – Hindi we do not understand anyway, and Indian English over loudspeakers is not much better….
Well, with only 2 hours delay – there are no complaints about that.

Flower Market Calcutta

I booked sleeper class – this is the cheapest version if one wants to lie down. There, you travel in open carriage, always three beds above one another. Armed with sleeping-bag, book and torch this is quite nice travelling. And I read long hours to make myself very tired and then it is rather easy to sleep even on Indian trains.
We had more than enough time, as the journey should last 14 hours… Of course it took us longer, a bit less than 20 hours, but it was more or less comfortable, in the morning, we changed the beds into seats and early afternoon we arrived in Calcutta.

I have already been to Calcutta – but this was 16 years ago. At that time, I stayed in a hotel in Sudder Street in the city center. This is a really terrible area. 16 years back, this was very practical – centrally located, cheap and close to the house of mother Teresa where I worked for a few days. But a room for 50 cents cannot be a very nice one… To sum up, one can say about most hotels in this area: super cheap, but also super dirty, any kind of dead and living animals in the room, a lot of beggars in the streets, annoying shop assistants selling whatever, dubious travel agencies and restaurants with doubtful food, when it comes to hygiene, also lots of people using drugs. So, this area has a very bad reputation, and 16 years ago, I sometimes had the feeling, that I am more annoyed about my fellow travelers from all over the world than about the locals trying to make their living out of anything….

No way, I would want to go back to Sudder Street! So, I did quite some research before I left Germany and came across the youth hostel of Calcutta. It is rather far outside of the city, but better travelling each day for 25 minutes by metro and staying in a nice, quiet and clean place than living in a hole in Sudder Street.When I saw the hostel I knew exactly, that I my choice could not have been better. Nice room, very clean, hot water, no dripping taps, good food and nice people (staff and other guests) – just perfect!
My very first day, I could not do a lot, as I arrived around 3 pm. And around 5.30pm it gets dark. Well, so, I took a tuktuk and went to Houghly River and by ferry to Belur Temple on the other side of the river. After the long train journey, I thought it might be nice to have a quiet hour in the temple and its surrounding park.
Well, for sure, it was different than I expected – exactly that day, there was the birthday of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, the person, this temple is dedicated to. Ramakrishna was preaching for the unity of the religions and is rated as the creator of the modern Hinduism. All that was in 19th century. His ideas are still followed by many Indians, above all young people. So, there was not only a birthday party, but also a youth party at Belur Math Temple. Well, for sure, there were quite a few people and for sure, there was no way sitting somewhere in the garden enjoying the quietness of the place….

Calcutta

No problem, it seemed, that at least half of these (a couple of thousand) people were interested in the only white person around. They were very happy to explain the ideas of Ramakrishna, and why these ideas still attract so many people and are important even nowadays.
In any case, a very exciting afternoon!

Returning to the youth hostel was nearly a little bit too exciting – actually, I wanted to go back by bus. However, because of all these parties going on in the whole area, busses were completely full. I mean completely full even by Indian standard! This means, people were hanging far outside the doors – and this not only one person… Getting "in" – no way, even getting one tenth of a foot on the platform of the full doors – not possible. At least not for me! Okay, a taxi then instead. But – also with this idea, I was not alone… Anyway, after some time, I got a taxi and then it took me only an hour to go back to the youth hostel.  Well, that´s Calcutta – 5 kilometers in the taxi, in a brief hour….

Victoria Memorial, Calcutta

Well, the following day started exactly like the day before ended. I wanted to go to the flower market close to Howrah Bridge. My idea was, to travel the big distance by metro and the rest by taxi. What I did not know is the fact, that people in Calcutta start working very late, which means I was completely wrong in thinking about rush hours…  So, rush hour is not between 7.00 and 9.00, but between 9.00 and 11.00 o'clock… This is usually the time, when tourists also want to begin their day…
Metro station Dum-Dum is a terminus. I never thought it would be a problem to enter a metro at a terminus. Well, each day, you learn something new – especially, when travelling. Usually, one might think, it should be possible to get at least a standing place in the metro…. Well, anyway, the first train – I just let it go, as there was no space to enter. With the second train, it was easier, as I stood relatively far in front. So, entering was possible. But, as I was one of the first to enter, I was quite far from the doors. Probably, you already assume, what happened, when I tried to leave…. I worked myself more towards the door, but on the last 2 meters, there were about 30 – 40 people blocking the door.  So, at my stop Central, there was no way to get out!
Well, I tried it again a station later – this was easier, because there were other people, who wanted to get out as well!
Actually, I have seen cramped metros like that on TV, for example in Tokyo, but people there are probably not pushing others as much as here.
However, it was somehow funny, and whether I go 3 or 5 kilometers by taxi to my destination – this does not really matter!
Anyway – the flower market is worth the action! So many different colors, smells, nice people, so many men balancing huge loads on their heads, rickshaw drivers – basically very lively, very chaotic, very Indian…
People from Calcutta are very different from Indians in other cities. They are very interested in foreigners, but usually without the dollar sign in their eyes.
Besides, which tourist is going for any reason to Calcutta? This city still has got a bad reputation when it comes to its size, transport system, beggars, people who live on the street – in short, as author Günter Grass has said once: Calcutta is gods biggest shit hole!

Market in Calcutta

I have no idea, which part of Calcutta Mr. Grass is referring to. Well, this was more than 10 years ago. Even though – the town has to offer a lot, just not at first sight. Of course there are many slums – about in 2000 registered and in 3500 not registered. In western eyes, a slum is housing of its worst kind. In Calcutta, we have to think twice – what about people, who even cannot afford a hut in a slum? What about the people known as pavement dwellers? These are people, who sleep on the sidewalk. A sidewalk, which they must rent!!! Often whole families, sometimes with a piece of plastic as a protection against cold winter nights, hot summers or the monsoon rains between July and September. These are the really poor – their whole lives are visible on the street. Who has no hut, has logically also no bathroom – everything happens in public. And we speak here of a few million people living like this.
But gods biggest shit hole? By no means. Calcutta is not only the Indian metropolis of the poor, but also of culture. There are a lot of galleries, where local and foreign artists show their works, the author and the first Indian Nobel Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore lived here (today, his house is a museum with great exhibits and a lot of photos from his life), then there is College Street with the biggest second-hand bookshop of the whole world. Astonishingly, you can find in these huts everything in literature – just perfect for the students of the nearby university.

Kumartuli, Calcutta

Right in the middle of a residential area, there is the Marble Palace. It is a crumbling building like most of the other buildings of Calcutta. The area is gigantic and in the adjacent garden there is a zoo with some birds and other animals in rather small cages. The area of the Marble Palace is huge. Usually, only government buildings and temples occupy such a lot of space here. A space like this usually houses several thousand people in Calcutta.
In the palace, there are many marble statues from Europe. Many of them nude – nakedness in the country of Kamasutra and the erotic  temple sculptures today is a scandal. Besides, there are Belgium glassware’s, Ming vases, chandeliers and mirrors – and paintings of Tizian and Rubens!
By far the most important place of interest and the pride of the locals is Victoria Memorial in the heart of town. The building is built out of white marble and is named after the British Queen. Today, Victoria Memorial houses a big museum – a lot of photos from the time of the construction, paintings of important personalities, miniatures, weapons….
The building is fascinating – but for me, the most exciting about Calcutta was its people, the colorful and busy streets, the markets and the normal life. For example, in Barabazar – claustrophobically narrow lanes, many small shops, market stalls lots of people out for shopping and men, who carry big loads on their heads or huge amount of goods in their carts.

Kumartuli, Calcutta

People in Calcutta are especially religious. There is no street without a flower-decorated shrine, a religious symbol or at least a god picture. People are donating enormous sums to the temples and priests, also very poor people do so. In Calcutta, a whole part of town lives on the devoutness of the people. In Kumartuli god's sculptures out of straw and mud are produced all year round. According to size they cost up to 200. – Euro. Particularly in October, workers and artists are very occupied. In October, there is the big Durga festival (goddess Durga, also called Kali, is the main god of Calcutta). At that time thousands of statues are done and at the end of the festival thrown into the Ganga.
This part of town is an oasis of quietness – I really enjoyed watching the artists doing their work – applying mud, pressing it flatly, wrapping in cloth and at the end painting the sculptures with shiny colors.
Sure, there are also many markets for colored cloths, scarfs, saris and Punjabis everywhere in town. On my last day, I wanted to spend my last Rupees on one of these markets. I thought about some scarfs, which are of better use in Germany than a sari would ever be… I am not a shopping person, but in this market it was really difficult to find something suitable.
However, right in the middle of this chaotic market, I saw a woman walking in front of me wearing a super nice scarf. Well, for sure, I asked her, where she got it from. Well, this was from a shop right at the other end of town… But we are in Calcutta, the town with the friendliest people of whole India. Well, what happened? We went in Rita’s big Mercedes and our own driver right to the other end of the city (which took us quite a while). There are very nice shops, mostly from Kashmiris. They usually have very nice goods, but are known as very good businessmen. Anyway, there was no reason to fear – I was with Rita, and all the talking and bargaining was done by her….

Riksha

After the work was done, she brought me back to the metro station, there was no way in saying I could hop in the metro somewhere else as well… she kept saying – "it's my town. I help you, you are my guest now." I was wondering, how an Indian lady would experience the western world and its habitants…
Well, good question – when I write these sentences, I am already back in good cold Germany and think exactly about that question. I fear, that my new friend Rita would not find that much spontaneity, friendliness and help in Europe or the US. But, actually, each of us can change that at least a little bit!
So, for the moment, this was the last newsletter from India. I hope you liked to travel with me through India.
We will see, what´s coming next and when.

Bodhgaya - with the Dalai Lama

My original travel plan was completely turned upside down by Dalai Lama. He was exactly at that time in Bodhgaya, when I also wanted to go. Dalai Lama in Bodhgaya – this means that there are 300,000 people, who want to see him. Well, all that in a place with 30,000 inhabitants!

Pilgrims tents, Bodhgaya

First, I was rather hesitating – where should I stay, when there are already so many people there? I called some hotels in Bodhgaya and also in neighboring Gaya – everything full at ridiculous prices. What to do?
Finally, I just went and trusted my luck!  I was even double lucky with the journey there – first, I got to know Tanya from the USA. She joined in to this rather crazy idea.  Then, there were two Japanese, who wanted to go for a day trip to Bodhgaya. So, we rented a car, which brought us 4 there (just 5-hour journey), Tanya and I remained there.

Our little hut

Okay, lodging was a problem, which needed to be solved first. Everywhere in town were tents, all the monasteries were packed with people sleeping on mattresses. Looked like huge dormitories with several hundred beds in each monastery. So, we went to the tourist information. There, we got to know a young man, whose father is renting out some huts. Perfect – a nice little hut with some cloths on the walls and a double bed. There was even sometimes power and hot water.
Moreover: our direct neighbor was an elephant! Moti, the elephant, became our friend, after we fed him some handfuls of tasty rice.
I never had an elephant as a neighbor!

Mono, Bodhgaya

Pilgrims listening to Dalai Lama

Well, lodging was organized, so, off we went into the mass of people. It is hard to describe – there were people just anywhere. Dalai Lama did his "lectures" from a monastery, and people could watch it outside on a screen. Via loudspeakers you could hear it in the whole town. And everywhere, there were people listening. People, who travelled thousands of kilometers to see him, Thai, Vietnamese, people from Sri Lanka and Bhutan and of course many exile Tibetans. And many people from the west. A really colorful mixture.
Because of these masses of people, everybody had to queue everywhere for everything. In the restaurant no place, for a bottle of water long queues, also for the main temple. But the atmosphere was relaxed, the people relaxed as well and content to be here. And of course once again an Eldorado for photographers! All these people from everywhere, the religious rituals, the big joy of the people and their satisfaction to be here – all that made this event so special!

The first night in our hut, we were literally eaten up by mosquitos. During the whole trip no single mosquito, and now, when being here only with small luggage and without spray or net, these beasts showed up in crowds! Because it was so cold, the mosquitoes did not have a lot of choice – up to our faces everything was in the sleeping-bag…. But in the morning, we found out, that our faces just looked horrible with bites all over. For the second night our family organized a mosquito net, then, we heard only the bad sums outside, but this could not affect our sleep anymore.

Dalai Lama live on the screen

In Bodhgaya there are many monasteries, but the one of Karmapa is especially great. (Karmapa is a high lama from Tibet, who has fled as a youngster to India). This monastery reminded me instantly of my trip to Tibet in 1998. In the monastery was also a big mattress camp for the pilgrims.
In the afternoon the 17-year-old son of the owner took us to a temple outside of Bodhgaya. The temple was not that great, but the scenery was very nice. Seeing farmers doing their work, the full green of young plants and on top the curious, and at the same time shy people.

Bodhi Tree, Bodhgaya

Bodhgaya as well as Rajgir, our next aim, are both cities in Bihar. Bihar is the poorest state of India. Few tourists travel around the area (apart from Bodhgaya). So, locals are usually rather surprised to find tourists sitting in their bus. Quite a few of them apparently, have never seen white people before – this was clear by their stares towards us. But everybody very friendly and helpful, nowhere a dollar sign in the eyes. That happens rather often in more touristy areas. One has the feeling that the people are proud to sit in the same vehicle – even if it is over packed rickshaw with 12 (!) people it. When the last two people got in, Tanya and I could not stop laughing anymore, so all the others joined in. Probably, none of them including us had such an amusing journey before…..

Pilgrim

Bihar has many problems – a high illiterate rate, gigantic families, and the biggest poverty under the rural population (few land lords with gigantic possession) and many poor completely without any land, dryness, bad streets, completely littered dilapidated towns and a left rebel's group which makes the area unsafe. Once a while there are kidnappings and gunfights.
This does not affect tourists usually, but of course one can be theoretically by mistake in the way….

Farmer

Our train journey back from Gaya to Varanasi was also a classic – waiting list 86 and 87. The seats were confirmed by the station manager before our departure – and the places were not free of course.
But – we got in the middle of a group of young sportsmen, who travelled from Calcutta back to Delhi. Well, just think about the fact, that two blond women enter this train – for sure, these young men were very happy to create some room for these two ladies…  You can be sure, that the entertainment program was set for the next 5 hours….
So, now am again in Varanasi and will take an evening the night train to Calcutta.

Varanasi - interesting and horrible at the same time

Well, next was Varanasi – the town, I got to hate so much 16 years ago. Varanasi is the most important and holiest town of the whole world for Hindus. Who dies here, is burnt here at the Ghats and whose ashes is put into the Ganges, is released from the circulation of rebirths. So, this is actually logical, what is going on here: in Varanasi, you can find the clenched misery on the streets, waiting to die. Sick people, disabled persons, old people, and of course a lot of others come here and just wait. As long as they are not dead yet, they must live anyhow – this explains all the beggars. 16 years ago, Varanasi was the absolute horror for me. Now, after four days here, I have to say – it is a love hate for this place. It is super interesting, but so crazy and so tiring.  All of that at the same time.

Manikarnika Ghat

Pilgrim, Varanasi

Pilgrim, Varanasi

There are several reasons, why I feel different now:
16 years ago, I was here in April, so it was extremely hot. December is a lot colder. Then, people need less electricity, so there were less power cuts. There is more wind, so the smell from the burning Ghats with all the burning bodies is not as bad as in Indian summer. Just imagine – on the main burning Ghats, there are 200 bodies burned daily.
I am staying at the same hotel as 16 years ago, but the rooms are upgraded.

Moreover, a couple of years ago, I was upgraded from Miss to Madame, which is a lot better. Respect towards older people. And this is not coming from younger ones, you can demand it. (Do you treat your mother the same as me now…?)
So, as I said, Varanasi is crazy and tiring, but it is a very exciting town in which one can experience a lot. Today however not – it rains like crazy. Not really typically for this season which is cold though, but usually dry.
I spent New Year at another hotel, as the manager has invited me there. There was traditional Indian music with sitar and tabla and then a traditional dance. At midnight, there were also some fireworks going on.

after taking a bath

Strange enough, this time I am so touched by Varanasi that I was there for 10 days. I never expected that to happen. Well, when planning this trip, I decided to put in only a handful of places to give me the chance to stay in one place a lot longer, when I want to. Varanasi has a lot of different faces depending on the area. As I split my stay in two different locations 4 kilometers apart from each other, there was no problem to spend here more time. It is not a place to get bored soon.
There is the old town with the golden temple, the most important temple in whole Varanasi. Here, on some days, which are maybe more auspicious than others, people queue for several hundred meters or a couple of hours. Around the temple, there are a lot of soldiers. People here are afraid of terrorists from Pakistan.

Pilgrim, Varanasi

Then, there are many stores with offerings, mainly flowers, posters of gods, statues of gods and jewelry. Everywhere in between, you find tea stalls. In the small lanes, there are many nervous cows and high on the buildings, there are quite some monkeys. There are no rickshaws in the old part of town. For them the lanes are too narrow. If a cow meets you in one of these lanes, or a motorcycle, there is often no other choice than jumping into a small store…

Sadhu, Varanasi

Then, there are the Ghats, the bathing places. These Ghats stretch more than about 4 kilometers. 
 In the north, adjoining to the old town is the most important burning ghat, called Marnikarninka Ghats. Here, 200 bodies are burnt every day. The bodies are carried on stretchers through the narrow streets, accompanied by Ram calls. As these people walk very fast with a burden on the shoulders of 4 men, tourists and other people try to get out of the way as well.
My first hotel was just about 200 meters from the big burning ghat, nevertheless, thanks to the wind; there was no smell, even not from the balcony.
Further south is the main Ghat. Here, people hold each evening an Aarti, a ceremony to the river Ganga. 5 men stand on stages, swing fire, and throw flowers in the river and blow mussels. People watch it from the Ghats and by boats from the riverside, which are both very enjoyable.
Most interesting is Varanasi at its Ghats. Here, people take a bath and clean their teeth just next to the burning bodies. Every now and then a dead cow swims past. Laundry is washed, cows trot between the burning piles of wood, dogs sit there and wait (I do not want to know, what they are waiting for).
Of course Varanasi, the holiest town of the Hindus, attracts many sadhus. These are holy men, who travel without any belongings through India. Often very wise people, but holy are definitely not all of them…. Then, there are of course all the pilgrims from all over India. They come here once a lifetime to wash their sins away in the holy river. Well, in our eyes, the Ganga is as dirty as a river in India can be – in the eyes of Hindus, this river can clean everything.

Flower Seller, Varanasi

In the meantime, I have moved to a quieter area, in the southern part. Here, it is rather quiet at the Ghats. Water buffaloes take a bath, people rest or meditate by the holy river.
For sure, there are now quite some facilities for foreign travelers (not so 16 years ago). There are hotels for each price range. The most inexpensive rooms start with 3 euros, the most expensive one lies with approx. 400 euros, at least, for a room, not per person. Everywhere, there are small restaurants with food of dubious quality (it already begins with the question where the water comes from, which is in your cup of tea…). Then, there are restaurants, which cater mainly for western taste, which often belong to hostels for budget travelers. There, you get the usual travelers fare – spaghetti, pancake or Korean and Japanese dishes.
Well, and then there is Blue Lassi – the ultimate shop for the yoghurt drink of India. I thought, actually, that I will experience no more big surprises after 7 times in India, when it comes to Lassi. Well, it happened – in Blue Lassi, they have definitely the best Lassis of whole India.
Banana-chokolade, papaya, apple, coffee, mango, orange or cocos-choko – all of them just great! Each day I came here and each day I tried another one.