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Could there be a city with a worse reputation than Calcutta? Just tell people you are going there and watch their faces. First, there's the business about the Black Hole.
India 2002 - Part One: Calcutta
Dougburnett2003-11-24 11:45:36
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Could there be a city with a worse reputation than Calcutta? Just tell people you are going there and watch their faces. First, there's the business about the Black Hole. My friends seem to think it meant Calcutta was a black hole, instead of being a reference to an infamous detention site where many British soldiers died.
Then there is the late Mother Teresa and the poor. While there is no missing the families that are living on the streets in Calcutta, they have created little villages in some places. There didn't seem to be any more of them than in other large India cities. While I doubt I could live their life, they didn't look as desperate as I had expected. In most cases they seem relatively happy and would often smile or wave when I walked by.
Despite its reputation I found Calcutta to be a lively and interesting place with friendly and helpful residents. Life seems to be more relaxed than in some of the other India cities I had visited, such as Delhi and Agra. While Calcutta doesn't have the historic interest of those northern cities, the streets were just as lively. All and all, I really liked Calcutta and am looking forward to visiting again.
Calcutta, Saturday, February 9
My plane from Bangkok arrived just before dark. In the arrival hall I was met by a little man holding a sign with my name written on it. He was from SITA, a large India travel agency. He was there to deliver my onward tickets and to collect payment. He was also going to take me to my hotel.
On the way to the car I told him I was planning on paying by credit card. Hearing this he became upset: "It's Saturday", he complain, "the office is closed. I don't know how we can do it."
When I made my reservation, I had been clear about my payment preferences. I showed him copies of emails from his office in Delhi. He read them quietly
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See photographs from:
India Gallery
