"They described a city I didn’t recognize as the place where I had spent the first 20 years of my life. There was no mention of Calcutta’s beautiful buildings and educated middle class, or its history of religious tolerance and its vibrant literary and cultural life. Besides, other Indian cities also have their share of poverty, slums and destitution, as would be expected in a country where a third of the population lives on $1 a day — for example, more than half of Mumbai residents live in slums, far more than in Calcutta. Why were they not equally damned in the eyes of the world?" ~ Chitrita Banerji, NYT

 As the daily breeze of wanderlust mussed my untamed hair (thank you covid),

I finally pulled myself out of this 'new normal' haze 

and declared a hiatus on 2020 bossing me around.

This signage in Kolkata is my declaration to 2020.

No more nuisance from you 2020!

As we flit around preparing for a hurricane predicted to land too close for comfort,

my tardiness in taking a stand is almost as late as the Kentucky Derby and Indy 500.

Hunkering down back home in Texas since March, 

there are audible sighs as I look back on our time in West Bengal.

While Ren Man flew off to nearby Assam for work,

I was left to drag myself away from the comforts of Oberoi Kolkata,

                                                    to explore this "City of Joy".

The Culture Kaleidoscope Photo Tour ...

was the perfect introduction...

to Kolkata, or Calcutta

as it was known formerly as the capital of British India.

  When the name changed in 2001...

street names eventually changed from English, Anglican names...

to those of Indian freedom fighters.

As I meandered throughout...

the "kaleidescope" of faiths...

 are woven...

 basically...

next door...

 to each other...

along with a cultural...

melting pot.

Our early morning stroll...

provided a viewing...

of school transport...

and smells of the neighborhood waking up.

Goat milk is delivered to homes in that large leather bag...

unless of course, you need proof that the milk is fresh.

Yes, this guy will lead his goats to your front door.

As mentioned above, Calcutta does get a bad wrap for its poverty.

Meanwhile, this doesn't seem to bother this city as it resists modernization 

and embraces its cultural richness.  

  Serendipity update:  Bomti has invited us to dinner in his home!