Other Glimpses

Back to Calcutta..

A wall of murals brightens up a street although I don't think they are very old.

This is College Street which is full of book stalls. Another long awaited planned destination for Peter

Don't think I would fancy a swim in this local pool!

Tiffin (or tea time) was very important in the past. This is a famous Tiffin Hall

Finally the news that Peter had been dreading - BOOK FAIR CANCELLED! The day before it was due to open the organizers lost their appeal to the Supreme Court and the Book Fair was cancelled on Environmental Grounds. The mind boggles!

Having seen the best Calcutta seemed to offer - the lovely people at Thai Airways allowed him to rebook his flight for an earlier one.

I think he has India out of his system for a little while now. I know there are wonderful places and amazing cultures and art in India - I just think he wasn't in the right place at the right time.

Architecture Extremes in Calcutta

The variety of architecture in Calcutta seems to be be far more extreme than other cities I have visited, The relics of the past are more impressive than the future.





Decay is a sad thing - especially for buildings



This seems more common though



This is an old English cemetary and the groundsman was very proud of his work in maintaining it. Evidently the Duke of Edinburgh is coming for a visit one day. Not a bad place to spend eternity I guess.

Not my idea of fun

My husband has a passion for reading and books. He has always wanted to go to the world's second largest (Largest is in Frankfurt) Book Fair. It is usually held annually in Calcutta (Kolkata) and this year he decided to go. As I am not big on heat, crowds and dirt I graciously declined the invitation to join him.

As I have nothing creative I can show you at the moment as I am knee deep in a large quilt and preparing for the Australasian Quilt Convention I am going to share some of his images.

The hotel he stayed at was the Fairlawn which is one of those places that he had read about that you have to see before you die. It certainly sounded like a bit of history. Building has been there since 1781 and according to the website it is 'defined by its idiosyncrasies'. Perfect description I think. This is the balcony outside his room.

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This is the water heater in his bathroom - note the black hole on the switch plate which is exactly that - a hole showing the wiring- just the thing to mix with water I would think.

The Book Fair was being held in the Madan - which appears to be a large park. The stands were all being made of bamboo - this was a couple of days before the planned opening.

And these are the toilets under construction.

As in all of India - the rivers are used for everything

Loved these postboxes

The only way to get to school don't you think?

More tomorrow.