Of Kings and Paupers....

               Following  the guidance of my Lonely Planet (LP)guide book, I marked the Victoria Monument (VM) as the ‘must see’ edifice for my second day on the hoof in Kolkata. Built, or rather commenced in

The Victoria Monument--Kolkata.

1910, to mark the crowning of George V as the ‘King-Emperor’ of India, finally completed 25 years later (1935). LP states this is considered as Calcutta’s answer to the Taj Mahal, but being rather less romantic, commemorating an absent colonial king rather than a lost & loved wife. The VM is indeed beautiful externally, cast in white marble, with mirror pools and placed in a massive central park akin to Hyde Park, London or Central Park NYC. Included in my $3 admission was the museum of the colonial period---once again, I noted in the commentary the almost intense lack of official affection for the Raj and things British.

               Duly photographed, one more ‘sight’ successfully off my list, I headed for the crowded city streets, in particular the Canmac Road area—one of the trendy (per LP) shopping streets, in search of some shade and sustenance. No shortage of sidewalk food sellers here for the office workers in the high buildings (not towers) that lined the street. It is never an easy task for me to find something to eat—just call me too picky. Food in India is scooped up and consumed with bare fingers---rather messy. My hands tend to be very dirty by lunch- time, so perhaps my resistance to finger use has resulted in me being 99% stomach upset free for the first 6 weeks of this venture—have crossed paths with many other travellers that have suffered from ‘Delhi Belly’. Hope that my comments has not upset the food sanitation gods!

            

Unofficial  recycling  collection centre--Kolkata style.

It  is my rule when sight seeing, to get myself 'lost'---in doing so, I usually see a lot more of the quaint, meaningful or unexpected, than staying on the well trod tourist route. Today, my wandering took me into what looked like a typical local working class area and a chance to witness close-up the grinding poverty that is Kolkata. At no point did I feel threatened, or was I unpleasantly confronted by aggressive begging. Even with camera raised to eye, people were quick to smile and stare at my  my white skin and bare hairy legs—not too many of those animals pass their homes any day/month/year. Not sure I would like to be here at night, but certainly daytime in the back streets of Kolkata was no problem for this tourist.

                    In a country like India, as in most other countries, there is a competitive rivalry between the major cities.  Not wishing to take sides, but I have to say that Kolkata seems a more pleasant place to live in or visit, than Delhi, or Mumbai, cities that disappointed me. I have a sense in Kolkata of forward movement amongst all the bedlam and chaos. Plenty of high-rise condo towers can be seen rising in the suburbs, plus evidence of shopping plazas being developed for the emerging aspirational middle classes. An effort by local government & the citizens to adhere to basic public sanitation was observed during my walks—and while far from being pristine, I did not have to step over/through so many piles of refuse as in most other places visited so far in the sub-continent.

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             Remember when we used to use messy blue carbon paper in forms to make duplicate copies?  Have not seen this used in the West for 15-20 years. Well the industry is alive and flourishing in India. Anyone in an administrative function uses it many times a day. Of course, this parallels the (almost) empirical total absence of computers in the hotels, offices and lunch counters as would used by a tourist (excepting the airport). This surprises me, as cell phones and hand-held devices have massive penetration here—even shoe-shine wallahs crouched on the footpath, can be seen scanning their screens for their Facebook messages!.