Calcutta train station. If we weren’t in such a rush I would have loved to have stayed there and took more pictures inside. Was an interesting place.

The Westerners spell it Calcutta and the Indians spell it Kolkata but it didn’t make much of a difference to me, as I was just happy that we were getting closer to the end of this crazy train trip. I think everyone was looking to the end on 05 March with a big smile!

So we arrived and as usual the group split into two. Mark with his friends and the rest in our group. I have heard of Calcutta before but I didn’t know what it had to offer. To be honest, I still don’t know what it has to offer, other than Sister Teresa’s grave and hospital, rickshaws that are powered by human legs and endurance, the Queen’s monument here from England and the busiest bridge in India. I learned all of this 10 minutes before arriving. Pretty much summed it up and we had two options: (1) see the Mother Teresa stuff or (2) take a ferry ride and see the bridge. Drew and I opted for option (1).

So we took off and had lunch eating something called a “dosa”. Basically it’s a large paper thin burrito filled with potatoes and veggies in the middle. The ones we had were about a foot long but you can get them as big as 3 ft long, as Mark did at a different restaurant.

After lunch, we walked to Sister Teresa’s hospice (hospital where the sick go to die) but found out it was closed. At this point I was done with her, as I personally don’t think she was such a saint like the Catholic church made her out to be. Yes, she did some good work but at the same time she had some real disturbing views on treating the sick and dying. Anyway, I just don’t trust the Catholic church because they run it like a business and I think they used her deeds as propaganda more then anything else (…and yes I know I will get a bunch of flack for this in the comments later. So feel free to call me the devil if you like, I’m cool with it).

The dosa meal we had that costs 35Rs ($0.78 USD)

So with one site down, we decided to visit her house and where she was buried. It was free to enter but there isn’t much there other than her tomb, a small one-room museum and her bedroom to look at. You can only take photos of her tomb, so sorry I don’t have much to show you on that. This took about 40 min to see and afterwards Bella from the group said something about seeing a famous monument that wasn’t far away. I won’t lie, I wasn’t too keen on seeing it and with the afternoon sun the photos would be all washed out… so I opted to go drinking instead. Which was the best decision for me, as I really needed a drink. So far on this trip I haven’t drank much but the tiredness of traveling was catching up, not only with me but with others too. So three people went to see the monument and the rest head to a bar Steve knew about.

Pretty much sums up Calcutta for me… Oh and we almost missed our train here as well. There’s nothing better than seeing ten Westerners running on the platform for over a 1k and then running around looking at each train cart to see if our names were on the list. One girl (Usha) got so scared she was going to miss the train that she just jumped on a cart that ended up being eight carts from the one she was suppose to be on. All in a days work traveling by train in India!

I have to give her credit, there isn’t a gift shop inside her place like most tourist attractions. Hell, I think the Vatican has the best gift shop ever. So if you want something with her face on it, like an ash tray, then don’t fear because just outside her house is a store that has everything.

The grave of Sister Mother Teresa in her home in Kolkata. There is no charge to enter and you are allowed to take photos of the grave but nothing else. You would think it would be the exact opposite.

Fact: At the age of 87 Mother Teresa died of complications from malaria and heart failure (26Aug10 – 05Sep97)

The flowers on her grave read “Use Your Talents For The Glory of God”

Fact: Mother Teresa only used one small bucket of water per-day to bathe in. She did this to humble herself for the poor and needy.

A free gift from the nuns when you visit her house. You can also donate after receiving the free gift that is conveniently located right next to the free gift stand. Brilliant!!!!

Fact: born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, she was a Catholic nun from Albanian and acquired Indian citizenship after moving there.

The hospice (hospital where the terminally ill go to die). Mother Teresa used to move around Calcutta and find people dying on the streets, load them up and bring them here. When we went, the place was closed for renovations… not sure if that is a bad thing or a good thing? I know if we would have been able to go inside it would have been one of the most graphic things I would have ever seen.

Fact: When Mother Teresa died, her Missionaries of Charity had operations in 123 countries with 610 missions going on.

In 1952 Mother Teresa opened the first Home for the Dying in space made available by the city of Calcutta. With the help of Indian officials she converted an abandoned Hindu temple into the Kalighat Home for the Dying, a free hospice for the poor. She renamed it Kalighat, the Home of the Pure Heart (Nirmal Hriday). Those brought to the home received medical attention and were afforded the opportunity to die with dignity, according to the rituals of their faith; Muslims were read the Quran, Hindus received water from the Ganges, and Catholics received the Last Rites.”A beautiful death,” she said, “is for people who lived like animals to die like angels—loved and wanted.” ~ Wikipedia

The all in one toilet. It’s East meets West, as this is a combination toilet of sitting or squatting. I assume this was one of those ideas that looked great on paper but in reality wasn’t practical in any way. It’s the only one I have found of it’s kind in India.

Taxi cabs in Calcutta are almost better then New York Taxis. There bright yellow, have a retro look to them and are cheap. Just the drivers suck and you really have to barter hard to get a fair price.

 

Calcutta’s most famous bridge, and India’s at that. Compare it to the Golden Gate Bridge in the USA. I guess what makes it so special is that a billion cars cross it every day (well maybe not a billion but I was told it was a lot).

You will see a lot of different people in Calcutta, that is for sure. This is a very spiritual place for many religions and every street has something to offer photographically speaking.

Communism is seen through graffiti on the walls. I noticed this more on the Eastern side of India then anywhere else. I just really liked this photo because of the colors (green, white and dirty orange) which is close to the Indian flag colors but with the Hammer & Sickle in the middle it makes a strong statement.

Rickshaws powered by human feet. Calcutta is the last major city in India that allows them to operate. There is big controversy over this as human rights advocates think it’s wrong but the men who work this profession want it to stay. I can’t blame because some of these guys have been doing this for over 40 years.

This was a quick photo taken at the train station on my way out. We almost missed our train by like two minutes but while running to the platform I saw this scene while crossing a catwalk bridge. So much was going on down there that I had to stop and get a quick photo. Just glad it didn’t cause me to miss my train. How they know what is going where is beyond me!

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