Kolkata Tour Day

Today we went to mass at the school. It's a special mass due to the fact that tomorrow is the founding day of Mount Carmel. It began 150 years ago. The students and parents who are Catholic came to the mass (the students do not have to be Catholic to attend the school). After the mass, students did some dancing on stage and a skit showing the life of Sister Veronica and the founding of the Carmelite sisters. They, again, did an amazing job! Such poise and confidence these girls have - it's amazing.

Rita took us on a tour of the important sites of Kolkata. First we stopped at a Krishna temple. It is Sunday so it wasn't open but we got a nice view of the outside and some really detailed elephant etchings on the gate.

We then went to Mother House - where Mother Teresa and the missionaries of charity. It was down a very narrow alleyway and the sisters let us in. Most of the rooms were actually closed until later in the day, but we were able to visit her tomb and see the outside of the room she lived in. Despite what some may say about her that is negative, it goes without saying she devoted her life to helping others.

Next stop was the Prinsep Ghat Monument. It was built in 1841 during the British Raj. It is a memorial for an Anglo-indian (half British and half Indian) scholar. Many people were kind of milling about and it had a lot of graffiti on it. The coolest thing there, for me, was an elephant landscape sculpture.

We also went to the Ganges River which was a short walk away. It was flowing pretty heavily with the daily rains we've had. Indians will bring a bit of ashes of their loved ones and toss them in the Ganges which is considered sacred.

St. John's Cathedral was our next stop. Very interesting cathedral...not what you normally would see architecturally from a cathedral. The grounds were great with lots of hidden memorials and mausoleums about. Inside was in a bit of disarray but the pipe organ was amazing and the stained glass windows. This cathedral is the third oldest church in Kolkata. It was completed in 1787.

Our last stop and most hectic, was the Victoria Memorial completed in 1921. It's dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria. It's an amazing building - the grounds were beautiful. Evidently people just come into to hang out - it's 30 rupees for Indian citizens but 500 for foreigners - quite a big difference! There are museums in the building which seemed great but it was crazy crowded and we began to get the attention like Delhi and people would walk up and sometimes ask for our picture or stand in front of us so that we were in the background. It started to get to me and we decided to go. A great structure to see though.

Big day tomorrow with a boat cruise and a visit to a tiger reserve....got an early night in.