Victoria Memorial and Hooghly River

Our first two weekends in Kolkata were filled with orientation activities and settling into our new places so the four other ETAs and I decided we had better see at least some of the city before we began teaching. So, two weekends ago, we decided to go to south Kolkata to visit the impressive Victoria Memorial which was dedicated to Queen Victoria, the Empress of India, by the British in 1921, 20 years after her death.>Walking onto the well-manicured grounds, we were transported into another time and it was easy to forget we were in a large, bustling city. The memorial hall itself is now a museum, with every wall filled with photographs, engravings, and artwork that tells the story of Kolkata and some of her best known inhabitants. We tried to get a photograph of all of us in front of the memorial but the three people we asked turned us down, either because they didn't understand or they didn't want to get up from their bench. Oh well. On the way to the memorial, we also came across the Maidan (see third photo on left) which, at five square kilometers, is the largest open field in Kolkata. We had to be careful where we stepped, though, because in the area we were walking through, horses outnumbered people.

Last weekend, we visited the Hooghly (or Hugli) River, an arm of the Ganges. It's located quite a ways away from Salt Lake so to get there we had to take a bus, an auto, and the metro, followed by a 30-45 minute walk. It being a particularly hot and humid day, the shaded stairs that went down to the river were a welcome sight. They were also, however, a welcome sight to all the kids in the area who were playing in the river but who quickly jumped out upon seeing the arrival of five sweaty, American women. They all started talking to us at once in a mixture of Hindi, English, and Bangla, commenting on our red cheeks and immediately wanting their pictures taken. As we were taking pictures of them, their parents were taking pictures of us. Then, when we asked about taking a boat to the other side, the children eagerly took us by the hands and pulled us to the dock just a short distance down the road. It was an experience unlike any I have had before. In the center of the city, we are stared at but this level of outward curiosity is just not shown. When it was time to leave (this time in a cab) the children put their hands out to ours in the ASL sign for "I Love You", which I copied and then touched my fingers to theirs. I don't know what possessed me to do so except that I assumed it was a greeting of some sort. In any case, they were thrilled when I did it so I must have done it right...whatever it was!