Ashley

Our fourth day in Kolkata was chock full of adventure. We visited a meat market, New Market, a Hindu temple, took a scenic boat trip, and someone even swam in the Hoogali river.

Meat Market and New Market
The only way to describe New Market, an open-air shopping district in the heart of Kolkata, and its meat market is SENSORY OVERLOAD. As with all things I have encountered in India so far, the markets were bursting with life.  There are rickshaw drivers, children begging for rupees, stall owners, and stray dogs everywhere, and with all this life comes constant noise; horns honking, vendors hawking their wares, shoppers haggling prices, and the sound of the chopping block. Along with this, there are all of India’s beautiful colors assaulting your senses. Oh and the smells. I must have smelled 12 different types of tea in the short time that I spent in the market, but not all the smells are as wonderful as Masala tea. In the meat market I came close to losing my breakfast a couple of the times. The smell of blood, feces, living animals, and fresh meat was enough to make me consider becoming vegetarian.

Boat Ride and Kali Temple
After a lunch of kati rolls, a Kolkata specialty, we ventured to a beautiful Hindu temple devoted to the goddess Kali. It is situated on the banks of the Hoogali River. Before entering the temple, we hopped into a tiny boat to get a better view of the temple and the surrounding area. The sun was setting and the boat ride was very tranquil. From the middle of the river, the temple and the landscape was picture perfect, and the pictures we took will not do it justice. Inside the Kali temple, we had the privilege of listing to the singing of traditional Hindu prayers. Some of us were also blessed by the priests. We played with children and chatted with adults using a mixture of broken English and gestures, as the stars came out.

The Swim
Normally, swimming in a river wouldn’t be blog-worthy, but when it is a river in India, particularly the Hoogali then it’s a different case. The Hoogali is full of trash, people bath in it, wash their clothes in it, do all sorts of bodily functions in it (use your imagination), and oh yeah, spread the ashes of the dead in it. Basically it’s the cleanest thing in the world………NOT. So one of the boys on the trip decided he wanted to take a swim in the glorious cesspool that it the Hoogali River. Naturally I had to represent the girls in this brainless activity so I decided to go in up to my mid thighs. Well, if our male swimmer hadn’t heroically grabbed me when I nearly fell into the river, we would have had two crazy swimmers, but I was saved, he took his swim, and we ended another wonderful night in India.