East!

WEST BENGAL


Kolkata


Arrived at 9am, already feeling much better.

I take a rest at my host's place, Ruchira, mother of two lovely daughters of 5 and 6 years old. After a light but filling enough meal of daal and rice, I shower and lie down before waking up and dressing up for going out. We leave with the three girls to go watch a classical dance show, Manipuri dancing and Indian classical music. Lovely evening and a perfect introduction to the cultural liveliness of Kolkata. Also in perfect opposition with the events of the past few days.

The next day I feel happy already to be in West Bengal, which i think will turn out to be my favourite state I visited in India. A nice and honest cycle rickshaw wallah takes me through a shortcut of small alleys to make me reach my destination. He takes Rs30 when the taxi was asking for Rs120 to get to the same place.

Meeting up with Rimjhim, who's been running a travel agency for 17 years and offer to help me with my trip to Darjeeling up in the mountains, famous for being the biggest provider of Indian tea and one of the biggest in the world. She gets me a healthy juice of raw mango and a few spices, good for the belly, as we sit and chat in her home nearby the Big Bazzar shopping Mall. We will meet again next week as she's currently quite busy with work.

I book a bed in a dormatory around the corner from Sudder street, in the city center. Much needed rest, to be ready for a big day of exploring Kolkata tomorrow.




There is 7 kinds of Indian classical dances : The Manipuri (from the state of Manipur), the Bharat Natyam (Tamil Nadu), the Kuchipudi (Andra Pradesh), The Odissi (Orissa), the Khatakali and the Mohiniattam (Kerala) and the Kathak (Uttar Pradesh, generally quite spread accross Northern India).