The City of Joy
Today we ventured into the City of Joy led by our fantastic guide, Deba, who provided us with an insight into the history of Kolkata as well as taking us to some of the tourist spots on offer. Deba is an experienced mountain guide who has summitted Everest and other major peaks of the Himalayas, yet he was just as passionate about his hometown as if it was the world’s tallest mountain.
We started at the Ghat (banks) of the Hooghly River, a tributary of the Ganges, where people go to bathe in the water of this spiritual river. People were taking pre-wedding photos, washing and praying in this sacred space. The river is central to their spirituality as the source of all life.
Flowers are a necessary part of daily and religious life too. All the rituals of Indian life involve flowers, whether that be the celebration of major puja (festivals) or family events such as births, marriages and deaths. Flowers are big-business and the hustle and bustle of the flower market proved this. Workers loaded with huge baskets of flowers on their heads, moved through the market like ants. None of us have learnt the Bengali for ‘excuse me’ yet, and we didn’t hear it in the market either!
The Jain temple was a world apart from the Flower market. Despite the noise and busyness of the city surrounding us, the tranquillity of the temple grounds was a welcome relief after the flower market. Jainism is a spirituality similar to Buddism. Followers are vegan, and only eat fruit that has fallen from the tree or bush. A Jain would never pick and apple, or dig up a potato. Jains are also one of the wealthiest groups in India and control much of the diamond trade among other industries. The temple had many features which helped us to understand more about their spirituality, and Deba was on hand to explain these to us.
Following this we headed to a slum! This wasn’t what we thought. The slum we visited was the Kumatuli Idol Makers Slum. A slum in this case is a place where people stay that isn’t typically residential. At Kumatuli, some 3,000 workers not only work in these tightly packed workshops, but also live here turning workshops into bedrooms by night. Here statues are made for temples, homes, shrines and for celebrating Puja. Tour guide Deba helped us to understand the meaning behind the gods, their features, their instruments and weapons, and their animal transport.
Our tour ended with a visit to the Victoria monument – a building of Anglo-Indian architecture that celebrated the reign of Queen Victoria surrounded by beautiful, landscaped gardens. The dome at the monuments peak is the same design as St Paul’s Cathedral, London. It surprised us that despite the history of colonisation and oppressing, the Indian people remain grateful for the contribution of British culture on Indian society.
With so much squeezed in before 2pm, we returned to the hotel for a siesta and a final visit to the Hogg Bazaar (New Market) before our final meal in the city and an early night – we’re up at 5am for Mass at Saint Mother Teresa’s house!
