India=Calcutta(West Bengal)

Next stop was Calcutta..went there by train...
I recall reaching Howrah Railway Station..
I never saw such a crowd in a station..
Calcutta was dirty,hot,overcrowded..full of misery and poverty..
but..I liked it...and I could never predict then..that I came back..
6 times to this city..my future sister in law was based in this place
as an air hostess for Indian airlines..she died in a plane crash..
and I miss her writing these lines..loveley woman she was..
So..Howrah bridge is a cantilever type of bridge..it's so busy..
boem..boem..traffic..pedestrians..unbelieveable..I walked over it..
on the other end..the Calcutta I remember started..although Howrah
itself..is a nightmare of poverty..beggars..dirt..dust and heat..
I decided to walk a bit into Calcutta..Strand Road..
a policeman in white dress..standing on a traffic island..
behind him a tent like thing..with people living on it..
couldn't believe my eyes...I walked all the way to BBD Bagh..
the Maidan=big parc-like field..I even saw rats there...well..well..
the big market is a hustle and bustle of shops..
a temptation for the eyes..full of colours..smells..people..shouting..
I will never forget Calcutta for the first time..now..i LOVE this place..
my future wife hated it..I like mingling and talking with people..
now a typical Bengali..let's say middle class or rich..is quite intellectual..
they produce the best laywers,doctors of India..
and they are damned proud of it..I had some interesting talks..
about any subject..going from long hair to Western/Indian society contrasts
normally in beginning 70's the average Indian did not like hippies at all..
but..for them..all these freaks coming from the West..looking for this or that..
were an attraction..and Indians..believe me..are very friendly and
especially curious to learn about other societys then their own..
in these days the Naxalites were active in Calcutta..I met Netai..
he was a Naxalite..it's a radical political group..I'll try to find a link??
awww..I can rant on about this city..I better stop..
in Bengali language they say...achtjee..
sounds like a sneezing..but it means *I'm going*
because later on..in my second trip to India.
I will tell more about Calcutta
I'll give some links..Tiger
http://www.calcuttaweb.com/

Tiger