Mr. & Mrs. Vandebilt + kids

We spent our first day in Kolkata walking. After getting our train tickets sorted out for Varanasi, our next stop, we headed to the Indian Museum. I had been hoping for an overview of India’s long history but instead got a history of time. The exhibits ranged from the Neanderthal man to preserved animals to minerals used for medecine.

The exhibits weren’t nearly as exciting as the museum itself. The museum is housed in an old building leftover from the British. It was a beautiful white stone building with a courtyard garden. The rooms were spookily unchanged since the 50s and looked like something straight out of the movies. The zoological exhibit was particularly eerie with huge not so well preserved animals. The walls of all the rooms were lined with cabinets shelves and drawers. The glass hadn’t been cleaned for quite sometime and the wood was old and dark.

According to our map (that we later discovered was no where close to accurate) we were next to the Victoria Memorial inside the park known as the Maiden. We walked through the open field for quite a while as there was plenty to see. Along side the park is the river where people were out bathing and doing laundry. Inside the park there were at least a hundred games of cricket being played. Most games had a group of spectators cheering them on. Those who weren’t playing cricket were flying kites, riding ponies, selling food and drinks or picnicking under a tree. Most people were friendly waving hello as we unknowingly interrupted their game.

We walked for hours and never did find the Victoria Memorial but we did get to see some of the everyday side of Kolkata.