Travelling in India: Kolkata

11^th of May, 2023.

I have a vague memory of how I manage to arrive to the exact building. I remember asking people around and a young man helping me.

Once in the building, bad news: only Indians can get a tourist Visa for Bangladesh from Kolkata. I need to go all the way to New Delhi, and from the Embassy of Bangladesh there, I can get a tourist Visa. That means that my plans of going to Bangladesh are over. I am going towards New Delhi, back to Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh, but there is no way I will come all the way back again to Bangladesh after that.

I decide to look for a Gurdwara in town and start my journey to Jaipur tomorrow morning. My new plan is: spending a few days in Jaipur with Lina, while waiting for my Pakistan Visa. Staying 30 days in Pakistan, and only then coming back to India to visit Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh. But everything would change drastically.

Now, crossing Kolkata to get to the Historical Gurudwara Guru Ka Bagh, Baghmari, I am surprised in how people are friendly and generous. Normally, this behaviour is more common in the countryside, while in big cities, due to the rush of a busy life, they tend to be a bit more abrupt, edging the rudeness. But not in Kolkata. While I was resting outside a pharmacy, the workers came outside and offered me water, cold drinks, we chat for a while and even took a photo.

In the Gurudwara was not any different. They instantly allowed me to stay, and a group of Sikh members, all seniors, sitting outside for some fresh air, were extremely kind and welcoming to me. I take a sit with them and we chatted for a while. One of them even asked to one of the men working in the Gurudwara to go and buy some traditional sweets from Kolkata, so I could try it. How lovely! But they did even more! They also bought me some snacks and plenty of water for my journey all the way to Jaipur. So, I ended up with a lot of food with me.

There is a lovely lady helping in the Gurudwara, Koshalia, and she is also a karate fighter. Koshalia is only 19 years old and her father cooks for the Gurudwara. Their house is behind the building, and they have a small field. She is so lovely! The man looking after the Gurudwara is also super nice. He is 31 but I didn’t get his name. I have the impression that I know him from somewhere else. He takes me to have some pani-puri before dinner, in a food stand nearby. The streets are so busy!

I am given a room and I go to sleep right after dinner.

Next morning, the keeper takes me for a walk, in a nearby park. There are lots of people doing exercises, mostly senior people. After that, he goes back to the Gurudwara and I go to another park nearby. I just want to take a nap because in the room is too hot now and there are no fans. After some time, he comes back to tell me that breakfast is ready.

After breakfast, they give me some parathas and sabzi for the journey. More food! Then the keeper try to give me some money. I tell him I don’t need money for anything. So he asks me if I need any clothes. I tell him that the pair of trousers I have right now is mostly worn, so he promptly offer me one of his own trousers, a sports one, quite thick, which is great because I am going to closer to the Himalayas anyway. That’s great! The trousers fit me perfectly and they are second hand.

I will take one train and walk quite a bit after, just to get to the train station form where I will catch the train to Jaipur. The only thing is that I will make a stop in Varanassi first.