India 2023

15 May 2023

It seemed like a long journey from Sydney. Departed Sydney at 11 am for a 7.5-hour SIA flight to Singapore. Had a 2-hour and 20-minute layover before the 3.5-hour flight to Kolkata (formerly known by the anglicized name Calcutta). As usual, SIA service was great and the food was plentiful. I could not have dinner on the flight to Calcutta as I felt rather bloated already.

I was dreading the worst at immigration and customs at Kolkata Airport. Fortunately, the flight landed at 9:40 pm and there was only one other flight from Dhaka that landed around the same time. There was very little queueing. As I had an e-Visa, I had to show the paper email version of the visa approval. So much for the ‘e’. My passport from promptly stamped after being photographed and fingerprinted. I took the green lane at customs and just breezed through without checks.

When I landed in Kolkata, I got a message from the hotel that they had sent a driver to pick me up from the airport and gave me his details. I had previously enquired about this and I thought they had forgotten. So this was a pleasant surprise. I got out through Gate 4 exit and the driver was waiting for me holding a sign with my name.

The trip to the hotel was about 40 minutes. This was was my first real Kolkata experience. There were all sorts of vehicles going everywhere. There is no real road rule observation. Everyone wants to get to their destination whichever way. Honking is the norm. In mean, incessant honking. I am convinced some of them have one of the hands taped to their car horns. Really unnerving ride but I got used to it.

The night sights were lively and contrasting. This is a city that hardly sleeps. There were old derelict buildings and slum areas that are contrasted with modern well-lit office towers and new hotels built in keeping with old Indian architectural features.

I am really looking forward to exploring the city tomorrow. My guide sent me a message while on my drive to the hotel, “Welcome to your own city”. That was nice of him. I mentioned to him before that my father was in Kolkata about 80 years ago as a young university student and also the ‘mischief’ he got up to. I was looking forward to a good rest. The hotel, Kenilworth was great and staff were welcoming. The added bonus was that the hotel is reasonably well located and major attractions are close-by.

I am venturing on my first trip to India. This will mainly be a historical tour. India’s history is quite extensive. It dates back to the Indus Valley Civilisation from BCE 3300. Sites of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro bear testament to this. However, my tour covers more recent history.

I will be going to Kolkata initially, some 80 years after my father was there in his early 20s. He had come from the then Malaya to study engineering at the University of Calcutta. I am fascinated by the culture and history of Kolkata. This was the seat of administration for the British East India Company. As my pre-arranged tour guide had pointed out to me, a lot has changed in 80 years though many historical buildings and structures are still in place. I will also make a 2-day trip to Murshidabad, the old capital of Bengal (pre-colonial period) and where the Nawab of Bengal resided. On the way to Murshidabad, I will visit the place where the Battle of Plassey was fought. This battle was a critical turning point in Indian history and the defeat of Nawab’s army by the British led to the British remaining in India for the next 200 years.

I will fly into Delhi after 6 days in Kolkata to go on another tour. This time it is the First Indian War of Independence tour or what the British term the Indian Mutiny of 1857. This tour will take me to Meerut, Kanpur and Lucknow to visit various sites involved in this rebellion. Aside from this, I will tour Delhi which is rich in Mughal history. I will also visit Agra (Taj Mahal) and Amritsar (Golden Temple). From Amritsar I will make a trip to Wagah Border (the main land border crossing between India and Pakistan) to watch the Beating Retreat Ceremony at sunset.

I will fly back from Delhi via Singapore for a few days, where, in addition to recovering from India, I will visit friends and relatives.

Kulendran's Blog