Sorry for the resend but the power went out and the photos didn't go. Enjoy
After spending a few days in this enormous city I have decided I love Calcutta. It’s huge for sure but as clean as any large city anywhere. There is an energy and pace here that is not available in Bombay or Madras. The streets in the Chowinghee district are laced with small tight back alleys that house a completely unique society. The alley on the back side of Sudder Street is one of those places. If you dare to sit on the small bench opposite the hawker stalls you will see a piece of this city that is far removed from the Oberoi Hotel or the posh restaurants of Park Street. My Chai guy could say hello in about 10 languages and was pretty good at figuring out that I was American. He did not know “Howdy” and could not speak much Texan. He did make amazing Chai tea that was cooked on this grill that had a compression cylinder that was pumped to spray what smelled like Kerosene or something. Toast, eggs, and butter was about 25 cents.
After spending a few days in this enormous city I have decided I love Calcutta. It’s huge for sure but as clean as any large city anywhere. There is an energy and pace here that is not available in Bombay or Madras. The streets in the Chowinghee district are laced with small tight back alleys that house a completely unique society. The alley on the back side of Sudder Street is one of those places. If you dare to sit on the small bench opposite the hawker stalls you will see a piece of this city that is far removed from the Oberoi Hotel or the posh restaurants of Park Street. My Chai guy could say hello in about 10 languages and was pretty good at figuring out that I was American. He did not know “Howdy” and could not speak much Texan. He did make amazing Chai tea that was cooked on this grill that had a compression cylinder that was pumped to spray what smelled like Kerosene or something. Toast, eggs, and butter was about 25 cents.
The street was also full of rickshaws moving people all over the place in the steady pace of the driver. As you set there and watched the rickshaw comes to make sense in a place that has so many people. The driver, who is walking can move and stop and wiggle his way along without causing any stress to anyone. You can’t say that about the young kids on the motorbikes. There are many wonders here in Calcutta and it’s a place I would come back to.
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