Life with Hilary Flockhart
Good bye to Kolkata. I never thought that I would be sad to leave this sprawling, heaving, stinking, noisy city. I have spent 3 months volunteering on the Swacch Bharat Mission, which I found to be a totally engrossing project and gave me the opportunity to meet and talk to people at all levels of Indian society from state-level officials to villagers in the remotest corners of the state.
While in Calcutta I have tried to learn a little of the history and have enjoyed several strolls around the city with Heritage Walks Calcutta led by Dr Tathagata Neogi, the founder of this initiative. Continue reading “All Saints and Souls in Calcutta”
I’d been in Kolkata a few days when I realised that I needed to take some physical exercise. The project work I had undertaken entailed a certain amount of desk time and I missed wandering around the Himalayas and burning a few calories, never mind the keeping fit part! Continue reading “My morning walk”
Natives of Kolkata raise eyebrows and exclaim loudly when I tell them that I commute to Barasat and Bangaon on the Bangaon Local from Sealdah station. I discovered that this is because the route is renowned for being really crowded with villagers who come into Kolkata bringing their produce to market. Continue reading “The Bangaon Local – Indian train travel”