Kolkata

The overnight train pulled into Kolkata early saturday morning and we departed to go in search of a hotel.  Aafreen had been recommended to us by Rob and Emma so we tried there first, relieved to be told they had a room available!  We settled in and had the most needed shower ever and then went exploring the city.  It was not at all what we expected and we were pleasantly surprised at how quiet it was.  I am not sure if that is because the festival (Durga Puja) has just finished and everyone has left for vacation or if this is normal, but there is a relaxed vibe and no one is harassing you like in most other cities we have visited.  The city itself seemed a lot more modern and was really quite pretty with all the parks around.  We started at the Victoria Memorial which is a building and grounds dedicated to Queen Victoria and houses some fine art and history of the british in India in a museum inside.

Outside of gates we caught the filming of a movie which was attracting a bit of a crowd, with a couple sitting in a horse-drawn carriage.  The horses looked like they could do with a good meal, as do many of them here!!!  We then got our permission slip needed for the Marble Palace which we are visiting tomorrow, and took a walk down Park Street in search of the cemetery where many British were laid to rest in the 1700 -1800s, mainly there in India as families of the working men, as it was after the famous Black hole of Calcutta incident in 1756, (where dozens of members of the colonial aristocracy were imprisoned in a cramped room beneath fort William, and by morning around 40 were dead by suffocation) that Clive of India retook Calcutta for the British and made it British India's official capital. There were many babies and woman too, all who seemed to have died at a very young age, the average seemed to be 20-40 years.

The Mother Theresa House was not far from here so we got directions and went to find it.  It was a bit of a walk but we finally arrived and were not disappointed.  I did not really know much about the history of Kolkata or Calcutta as it was previously called, or Mother Theresa and was interested to find out more, especially as Theresa is my middle name and I chose this because of her.  She died in 1997 and the story of her life was laid out before us in a small museum along with a few of her things, i.e. sandals, eating utensils and letters etc.  It all started when she was 18 she left by boat for India and always felt the calling by God.  He told her to go into the slums of Kolkata, where no one ventured unless they lived there, and bring the people there to him.  These people were absolutely destitute at this time, with no hope, love, faith or humanity in their lives.  Many died alone on the streets and no one cared!  Rejected by society and left to rot!  Mother Theresa was scared but she went alone into the slums and started caring for these people, there was not much she could do at this time physically for them, except to maybe dress a few wounds, but she offered human contact and kindness like none they had ever seen the likes of before in their short lives, and they were so grateful for this, like one man said "I have felt the warmth of a hand upon me."

She held people so they did not have to die alone and taught them that God was not punishing them and that he was waiting for them, to give them some hope, so they would feel comforted and not scared anymore, this was more then they had ever been offered and they were so grateful.  These were good, loving people, caught up in the poverty of an over populated city that was soon to be bursting at the seams, when about 4 million Hindu refugees arrived in the early 1900's, I am not sure of the exact time, but due to the impact of partition.  This is the time when people literally were dying in the streets from hunger, creating Calcuttas image of abject poverty!  No sooner had this influx of people been absorbed, when in 1971 a second wave of people arrived due to the India-Pakistan war.  There was much work to be done, Mother Theresa set up the missionaries of charity and raised money and had a team of sisters to help her, 10 altogether, and they carried on the work with the poor, never resting and giving the best of the food to them and eating themselves what was leftover.  These missions are now worldwide, wherever there is a need for shelter and rest for the dying and the poor.  The pictures on display were heartbreaking and I think Nicola and I were both walking around with tears in our eyes at the sadness of all the pain and suffering that went on here, and that the biggest gift of all to be given was just some human kindness, comfort and dignity for the sick and the dying. They had no expectation of anything more!

We then visited her room where she lived and died, and she would not even use a fan even in this extreme heat, it was very small and simple, and the tomb where she is laid to rest.  We made a donation and left with many thoughts going around in our minds.  We all think we would like to help when these situations arise, but not many of us would really give up all our own comforts and sacrifice our existence to help others, not even for a short time. It is definitely food for thought!!!  A remarkable lady!!!

The following day we visited the marble palace, which is an array of sculptures and paintings, as well as a collection of animals in the gardens, mainly deer, and birds.  The palace was beautiful inside with its decorated marble floors, but no photography was allowed.  We then walked for a while towards the river and Hoogley bridge and soaked up the sights, sounds and smells of Kolkata.  A storm was coming in so we sheltered for a few hours in a coffee shop which let us use wifi and did some catching up!