Friday, February 9 / Arrive Kolkata, Ganges Voyager
We arrived in Kolkata and were transferred to the Ganges Voyager, our cruise ship home for the next 6 days. Our trip along the Hooglie River (part of the Ganges in West Bengal/NE India) was the unexpected highlight of the tour. Our room was at the bow with an extensive view of the river. The ship provided great dining, a good selection of wine (good basic wine included with meals) and the staff were very helpful. We enjoyed cultural entertainment, tours of local villages and sites and the interaction with our fellow travelers.Our voyage began with a short ride from the pier to the Ganges Voyager. After getting settled into our rooms we had a performance of Baul folk music before dinner.
The Bauls are mystic minstrels living in rural Bangladesh and West Bengal. Their music reflects influences of Hindu movements and Sufi music. They sing to the accompaniment of the ektara (a one-stringed instrument), a dotara (a two--stringed instrument, and a drum called dubki. Their philosphy emphasizes the importance of a person’s physical body as the place where God resides and they are admired for this freedom from convention as well as their music and poetry. Their devotional songs can be traced back to 15C.
Saturday, February 10 / Kalna
The first stop in our E-rickshaw visit to Kalna was a Shiva Temple complex, The temple structure consists of a combination of two concentric circles with seventy-four small temples dedicated to Shiva in the outer circle and thirty-four more in the inner circle. The walls of the temples depict episodes from the Mahabharata and Ramayana, ancient stories of the Hindu mythology.
The highest concentration of temples in Kalna are inside the Rajbari temple complex in the heart of the city. The Pratapeswar Temple came first. It is a good example of the 19C rekha deul (sanctuary) with a curvilinear sikhara (tower) and single arched entrance. It is decorated with rich terracotta ornamentation.
Next was the Rasmancha, a roofless brick structure that stands nearby. The outer section features 24 gateways, while the inner section has 8 gateways.
The Rupeswar temple, well worn but elaborately decorated with terracotta was built in the mid 1765 by Maharaja Trilok Chandra.
The Lalji Temple is the oldest in group, built by Braja Kishori Devi, the wife of Maharaja Jagat Ram in 1739.
The Krishna Chandraji Temple is a magnificent brick temple constructed in 1751-55 AD. It makes a very impressive back-drop to the site.
Shiva MandirTemple: mosque of concentric circles with a collection of figures adorning the roof.
Finally we visited the Vijay Vaidyanath Temple, a brick temple with its facade decorated with variety of details in terracotta.
On our return to the Ganges Voyager we passed through a colorful market with the typical vegetables, fish, …, as well as bread making. We also noted some bamboo staging, We first saw this 30 years ago in Thailand but it seems to have been replaced with metal staging there.
On our return to the Ganges Voyager we passed through a colorful market with the typical vegetables, fish, …, as well as bread making. We also noted some bamboo staging, We first saw this 30 years ago in Thailand but it seems to have been replaced with metal staging there.
Sailing towards Matiari we had locals waving to us from the shore and a peek at the Hari Krishna temple in Mayapur. Meanwhile on-board many of the group participated in the Henna Tattoo Session in the Lounge. Having henna tattoos is a typical Indian wedding tradition. They last about 5 days. We discovered that both Bill and a fellow passenger bought shirts of the same fabric while in Delhi, so they had to model them (see bottom right).
That afternoon, as we traveled on to Matiari, Professor Duane talked about "The Mughal vs. British, view of the landscape". The take away from this was twofold. The Brits were in India (and other "colonies") as business people looking for short term profit closing their eyes to any damage that might cause. On the other hand the Mughals considered the area their forever home and took care of it with an eye to the future.
That evening we had one of our a la carte meals where the Chef showed his prowess. We chose a fine Indian Rāsā cabernet sauvignon from Sula to accompany it. As a reminder, Sula was founded by a Stanford grad.
Sunday, February 11 / Matiari, Khushbagh
This is a busy day with stops in Matiari and Khushbagh. We were off to an early start (6:30) for Matiari, a village where more than half the residents are involved in brass work. The early start is that the brass workers can avoid the heat of midday.We docked near a ferry crossing and on our way to the metal works we past some brightly decorated doors, as well as, some festival preparations including paper mache characters.
The metal work involves melting, shaping, polishing and selling metal cups, plates and other small items.
After lunch there was a demonstration on how to put on Saris and Turbans. Bill volunteered to model for the turban. As you can see the Turban and Sari fabric were quite long. Saris are 9 meters and a traditional Pagh (turban) can be as much as 6 meters long.
We arrived at the delightful village of Khushbagh. Here we visited the Mogul-style garden cemetery of the Nawabs of Bengal, including the tomb of Siraj-Ud-Daulah, the last Nawab of Bengal, who was defeated by the British East India Company at the Battle of Plassey in 1757. His tomb is tended daily by a woman who feels she is the reincarnation of his first wife.
We walked to the tomb which is popular with the locals. While we walked most of them rode (apparently to demonstrate that they can afford it). They seemed as interested in seeing and interacting with us strange foreigners as we were with them.
At the end of the tour there were treats waiting for us. Puffed rice salad and tea/chai in a clay disposable cup called a kulhar or a shikora. It is a traditional handleless pottery cup that is typically undecorated and unglazed. Kulhars are meant to be disposed of after one use.
Back on the Ganges Voyager we enjoyed a cultural dance program on the Sundeck. Later, thinking we were ordering two glasses of sparkling wine we accidentally bought two bottles. They were good and with a little help from friends they were consumed with dinner.
Monday, February 12 / Baranagar Murshidabad
The big attraction in Baranagar seemed to be us. The young people (and likely the older ones) wanted us to take their pictures or to take photos of us. Aside from that...
We walked through the little village to an area with several small temples, passing several matching temples and cute little bouncing goats along the way.
The pious and charitable Rani Bhavani of Natore passed the later days of her life (mid 1700s) life in this village and built the Bhavanisvar Temple. It is dedicated to shiva and is apparently remarkable for its height and unusual style. It is an octagonal structure with a domed interior and a corridor with a sloping roof. In many places it still retains the original plaster ornamentation.
The four Char Bangla Temples enclosing a small courtyard were also built by Rani Bhavani. Each temple has 3 arched openings and 3 richly decorated siva-lingas (Symbols representing the 5 aspects of the Lord Shiva). The delicate brickwork of their facades are some of the best ornamental brickwork of Bengal. The decorative themes vary and are drawn mainly from the Hindu epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.
We moved on to Murshidabad for an E-rickshaw tour.
The Katra Masjid is a former caravanserai, mosque and the tomb of Nawab Murshid Quli Khan. It is one of the largest caravanserais in India. It was built during the 18th century, when the early modern Bengal Subah was a major hub of trade in Eurasia. The most striking feature of the structure are the two large corner towers having loopholes for musketry (see tower below, top left).
Hazarduari Palace was built in the early nineteenth century by architect Duncan Macleod, under the reign of Nawab Nazim Humayun Jah of Bengal. If you have a thing for doors this place has 1000 (Hazar means "thousand" and Duari means "the one with doors" ). Apparently only 900 are real and 100 are fake. (Or maybe only 100 are real. The story varies and we didn't have time to count.) The Hazarduari complex includes a Madina mosque, a Nizam Imambaara, a clock tower, and ... Usually, Indian palaces are named after their rulers.
The massive three-storied rectangular building spreads 424 feet long and 200 feet broad, with main gates large enough to allow an elephant with a howdah, or carriage, to pass through.
Tuesday, February 13 / Mayapur
Sailing Towards Mayapur our professor presented an intriguing concept: the Legal Personhood for the Ganges.- This is a real thing. The Ganges is being considered for personhood.
- Note: A "legal person" is recognized by law as such, not because they are human, but because they posses fundamental rights and duties; "legal things", on the other hand, have no rights at all.
- If granted personhood, the Ganges could have rights to protect its waters and boundaries.
This was followed by a Cooking Demonstration in the Dining Room, including more or spices and making corn stuffed "raviolis" for our afternoon snack.
Mayapur is home to the headquarters of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Yes, that would be the home to the Hare Krishnas. Mayapur was chosen because "Lord Chaitanya, who is Krishna Himself in a golden form, appeared in Mayapur a little over five hundred years ago with the mission to "flood the world with the highest love of God, a love rarely revealed."
I know, it is hard to imagine willingly going here, but the temple and grounds are magnificent and large enough to host the 10's of thousands of devotees that visit annually. It was truly interesting, aside from the couple acolytes who attached themselves to our group anxious to share their stories.
The evening BBQ on the Sundeck was quite savory. Later there was a candle floating ceremony on the river and the next day we were sailing toward Bandel and Chandernagore, then onto Kolkata, for our last night on board. One couple had attended a wedding in Delhi prior to joining the tour. Their hosts provided them with suitable clothing which they modeled for us.
Wednesday, February 14 / Bandel, Chandernagore
The day was a combined holiday, Basant Panchami and Valentines Day.
Basant Panchami is a Hindu festival, celebrated during Spring usually in February honoring the Goddess Saraswati (the goddess of knowledge, music, and learning.) Schools, colleges, and other educational institutes celebrate this day throughout India.
And it was Valentines Day. Current day tradition has it that young Indian couples, especially in urban cities, typically celebrate Valentine's Day by dressing up to their very best, gifting each other balloons and chocolates, and spending time together in public parks, cinemas and restaurants, or going to Valentine's Day-themed parties.
Being a school holiday due to the sacred holiday, folks were out in full force and nearly everyone was dressed to the nines. People watching was way more interesting than the visit to Chandernagore College.
Chandernagore changed hands a number of times. The French bought the land from the then Nawab of Bengal, Ibrahim Khan and established a French colony in 1673. The British moved in from 1793 to 1816. It was returned to France until 1950 when it was included in independent India. During the early French presence Chandernagore became a larger trading centre than Calcutta. Its importance fell after being captured by the British East India Company in the Battle of Chandernagore 1757.
We actually visited a Christian church, the Sacred Heart Catholic church in Chandernagore. At the Chandernagore College we noted an interesting a sculpture recognizing some escape (but not sure of the details) and a colorful sculpture of a charioteer, (missing) chariot and horses. As we walked back to the Ship we passed a ferry loaded with new arrivals.
The evening program began with crew Introductions and was followed by a swirling Cultural Dance Program on the Sundeck. It was cool to see how many were involved in taking care of us. Our guides, the navigation crew, the cooks, the yoga instructor, the cleaning crew, the floor hosts and cabin maintenance team.
Thursday, February 15 / Kolkata
We arrived at the Kolkata Flower Market a bit late and did not see the market in full bloom. The remaining indications were that it could be quite impressive.We stopped at the Victoria Memorial Hall, a large marble monument dedicated to Queen Victoria, the Empress of India (1876-1901). An impressive building. We had a nice stroll around the grounds and reflecting pools. Returning to The Ganges Voyager we passed a colorful shrine and some decorated horse carriages waiting to be hired by a wedding party. Once onboard, we observed a group trying to place an offering in the river. The idea is to get it out over the tide flats and and then unstuck so that it floats down the river.
After lunch we completed our packing and we were on our way home at 4:30 (with about 12 other fellow travelers). We were delayed getting out of Kolkata but it made little difference because we had a 4-5 hour layover in Delhi before our flight to London.
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