Quirky…..Indian Museum… Marble Palace …Kolkata Fish market…

Hi [firstname,fallback=],

Remember how I said that there are many things in Kolkata which are a bit ‘quirky’ – well the INDIAN MUSEUM is one of those. It was like a time warp back to the 1950’s or 60’s…. In the main, a dusty old museum with cases of meticulously recorded hand-written or hand types labels on small carefully cut cards. The sign for the “Rocks and Minerals” display hall was an A4 piece of paper; crookedly stuck on to the side of the wall with some sticky tape which was perishing and peeling off. Once again – I smiled.

What an interesting museum. There were huge rooms with large dark wood cabinets with glass doors that housed chunks of the earth on little plastic plates. Sometimes the plates lay empty. There were interesting shaped bottles filled to various heights with coloured liquid and grains of sand and dust. Many of these items were the source material from the earth for advances in technology and engineering; and were acknowledged thus by photographs and text not dissimilar to my recollection of primary school projects. Yes… very quirky….

…And hot. Huge fans whirred as the sweat ran down my skin under my loose mozzie proofed clothing. Max and I often commented on what the conditions would be like in the monsoon. I’m not sure I would like to be here then!

There were several other rooms in the Indian Museum; a little more contemporary in design.. but not any cooler…and actually no less quirky!!

There were displays of the ‘Evolution of man’….we only arrived 77 seconds before midnight if the history of the earth was condensed to one day. A natural history room…. And what was hilarious was an “Invertebrate Room” where the first thing to greet us upon entry was a huge skeleton of an animal with gigantic moose like antlers. “Invertebrate”?? …skeleton??? For a moment I was a bit bewildered… then once again I smiled to myself. Indian quirky.

There was a wonderful display of silk and fine thread weaving of fabrics… and jewellery … and other small items used in homes. The chess set with characterised pieces was one of my favourites. It was like entering another world…imagining people playing chess with this exquisitely carved set.

From the quirky to the bizarre was a visit to the MARBLE PALACE. The payment system was a little perplexing. There was a guard at the gate who asked us if we had written official permission. Hmmmmm.. I could have rustled one up from the Minister of tourism and stamped it with a patterned biscuit and some dye which ran from my first wash of my newly purchased cotton pants – but no; we didn’t have written permission… but that was ok… all we had to do was pay the man in the uniform at the gate 200 rupees on the way out… and Oh – btw – we had to have a guide and we could decide how much to pay him… anywhere between 300-500 rupees. Hmmmmm.

The Marble Palace was bizarre. It was a relic of incredible opulence which was decaying in the heat, monsoon and lack of money… and perhaps even lack of acknowledgement of actually valuable some of the artworks were in the collection.

This 19th century mansion was a little depressing with a Macau and other exotic birds trapped in small cages; and 5 and 4 seater back-to-back lounges covered by dusty fabric; and carpets which once were underfoot of dancing and music now lay rolled at one end of the rooms. We entered each room with a speil from our guide…”From China”.. “One piece Belgian glass: …. “Napoleon”…. “ Statue in bronze”….. “China…” – short phrases learned by wrote said over and over to each tourist who came and paid the man in the uniform at the gate.

The marble on the floors in each of the rooms was however remarkable…and I could see that once this mansion would have breathed celebration and opulence… now sadly I saw decay and abandon. We were not able to take any photographs of the Marble Palace ..so to really get an idea of what it is like you will have to pop over to Kolkata.

..and while you are here you MUST go to the FISH MARKET. It was amazing! Auctions seeped through the alleys with the fishy water and small dead fish floating back toward the Ganga. Boxes of fish and ice were taped with rounds of brown and clear tape… and slit open in the same manner as the underbelly of a fish being cleaned.

There were so many varieties of fish… most of them in prime condition… eyes bright… shiny scales… plump. I noticed a man sliding his fingers in the gills of a fish and then smelling it… and then scrunching up his nose. That fish was one of those that wasn’t that fresh. I wonder where it is now?

The fish market didn’t escape “quirky”. On one side was a wide metal bowl or plate and as a man called out numbers (the price)… another man was adding fish to the wide metal plate- and on the other side were the weights which consisted of a metal lump with a designated weight stamped on it… and in addition was a brick…. and/or a rock…. And perhaps another rock. That was quirky! ..and once again I smiled.

The South Park Cemetery was fascinating. After we re-applied our 40% tropical strength DEET – hoping it didn’t slip off with our profuse sweating in the humid cloudy day to provide protection against the mozzies lurking behind the lush green foliage; we wandered through the grounds of the Cemetery which was built in 1767, where tributes arose from the earth as a reminder of how tough life was just a couple of centuries ago.

Vines and tree trunks help encapsulate the brick and mortar shrines …helping them return to dust. Here too was a sense of quirky… with huge tree trunks, gnarled and representing the procession of time; almost nurturing the structures in remembrance of those who had once lived before.

Plaques revealed that surviving was so challenging that many children died at an early age and what seemed commonplace was death in one’s 40’s … with only very few reaching the mid 60’s. For me it was a reminder of the hardship people experienced actually surviving during those times; and brought to a greater appreciation behind the term “first world problem.”… in recognition of the ‘third’ world issues that was for so many a way of existing

Today we went on a tram ride through Kolkata for those who had just arrived to give them a sample of this interesting city.

Upon reflection I think we have just about covered the TOP 11 things to do in Kolkata.

There are a lot more wonderful photographs which I cannot include here in this broadcast….so I will create a gallery and in my next post share a link where you can visit to see a large collection of my photographs and experiences in this richly diverse city where I have received smiles and welcoming in a place where the poverty is almost incomprehensible.

Tomorrow off to the Sundarban National Park in the Mangrove area of the Sundarbans delta in West Bengal ..bordering on Bangladesh.

Then.. re-united with Penny in a few days.