Where is Roberg?

Today I decided to finally visit the biggest attraction in Kolkata: the Victoria Memorial.

It was a decision that made for a couple interesting experiences.

To Join the Mob, or Fight Them

I decided to walk down to the Memorial (about 2 miles from my hotel). On the way, I heard the speakers coming from a very large rally across the street. Apparently the Communist Party is the leading political party in Kolkata, and they were holding a large rally in the open area north of the Victoria Memorial.

I thought nothing of it, until I arrived at the northern gate. There, waiting to get in, were hundreds of people, milling about in front of the gate. I noticed that there were only two windows, about 10 feet apart, with no lines of people… there was a horde of people pushing and shoving to maintain their place and move up in line. Apparently hundreds of people from the rally, and hundreds of people in Kolkata who are in transit to a religious festival that is being held in the south two days from now, decided that today was a good day to see the Memorial.

I had a choice to make… should I enter the fray, or try to come back another time? Well, I decided to enter the fray. For the first few minutes at the back of the line, there was no shoving. However, as I moved forward, there it reached the point that people behind me pushed and I had no choice but to go along. The challenge came when I had to literally had to push and shove people away to get my hand into the window, hand over my money, get my ticket and change in return, and then get out of the crowd. I pushed against the counter to make space, a little more than I needed to apparently, and made it out without any scratches, bumps, or bruises.

Here’s a video of the scene after I got out and people continued the scramble to get tickets.

If you can’t see it, click this link: Scramble to get Tickets at the Victoria Memorial 1/13/08

The Most Looked-At Man in the Memorial

After procuring my ticket, I went to the gate and was waved through immediately. As I made my way slowly toward the memorial, taking pictures, six young gents hovered around me. Eventually one of them got up the courage to ask for a picture with me. Apparently it was the first time they were seeing a Westerner and wanted to capture an image of the moment. It reminded me of Japan, where I was stopped at least 5 times in 4 months by young people who wanted to take their picture with me. Before I knew it, all of the young men jumped in to be in the picture. They were between 17 – 21 years old, and hailed from West Bengal.

After taking the picture, I walked around the Memorial to find the entrance. The teenagers followed (stalked) me at a respectable distance. After taking a few more pictures, I found the line to enter the Memorial and started walking to the back… and I kept walking…

I walked for 2 minutes before I came to the end – the line was HUGE. I decided to try to come back another time and started to walk to the front, at which point the boys asked for yet another picture. Each of the six wanted their own individual picture with me. I know it’s NOT because I’m handsome, it must be my magnetic personality!

Lunch at a Chinese restaurant in India

As it became lunch time, I decided to seek out a multi-cuisine place to take a break from Indian food. It was closed, however, because it’s Sunday. Consequently, I decided to go to Tung Fong’s, a Chinese restaurant recommended by my travel book.

They were having a Sunday brunch, so many Indian families were there to enjoy a nice meal together. I proceeded to have an Chinese meal, in India, listening American instrumental music (you know the song that goes “cherish the love we have, cherish the lives we lead”), wearing pants made in India (I bought them in the U.S. before I came over) a shirt made in the USA, and socks made in Thailand. If that’s not an example of cultural diffusion (the exchange of goods and ideas between people), I don’t know what is! For my former students, you knew I would work in the phrase cultural diffusion at some point, didn’t you!)

For more information about what we (Flat Kat and I) did today, check out his page.

My Plan for the Next Couple Days

I have decided to stay one extra day in Kolkata. Tomorrow night I will ride an overnight train, where I will have one of 6 bunk beds in a compartment on the train. If it’s anything like a European train, I will love it because I’ll be able to sleep while I travel. It’s the best type of multi-tasking a traveler can do.

I don’t know if I will post anything for a few days, so until then, enjoy the football games, keep up with the Democratic + Republican Primaries, and watch the world news. I’ll be testing you when I get back!

Filed under: India, Travel