Kolkata--Mud Sculptures, The Black Hole

 This was our last day in Kolkata. After our visit to Mother Teres’s our long excursion continued with a stop at potter’s row. This was a couple of narrow alleyways that housed the workshops of many who were sculpting figures dedicated to the gods of the celebrations coming up. The Diwali sculptures were finished and already on display wherever they were needed but another celebration was coming up in a few weeks and more sculptures would be need to be supplied.

The sculptures started with a wooden frame and straw to give the basic shape. The clay or mud came from the Ganges because it was sacred. Fine features were carved into the wet clay after it was smoothed over the straw. It was an amazing process all to construct sculptures that would eventually be returned to the river from which they were born to replenish the sacred clay. We noticed the Diwali sculptures floating past our riverboat the next morning.

We tried to understand how these artists made any money from their work. The best we could get was that they were commissioned by others (patrons). As one celebration of the gods was finished, another would start so it must have been a good source of income.

The next stop was at St. John’s Church. There was to be a rest stop here and a small outbuilding held the facilities. There are times when I really wish I was a man. This was one. The only western style toilet was so disgustingly dirty that I decided to chance waiting until our return to the boat. Many of the other women did as well.

The significance of our stop at St. John’s besides the “comfort” stop was to see the Black Hole monument. The Black Hole of Calcutta was the scene of an incident in 1756 in which a number of Europeans were imprisoned in Calcutta (now Kolkata) and many died. Upon the surrender of the East India Company’s garrison, the governor of Bengal, John Z. Holwell and 145 others were imprisoned in a small cell usually used for petty offenders and called the Black Hole. It was a room 18x14 feet with little ventilation. All but 23 died that night.

Inside the church was lovely to look at and had a room that had been used as the offices for the governor. It also had an unusual pipe organ. I don’t remember seeing one with designs on the pipes. After a look around, we took a bit of respite from the heat in the shade afforded in the covered entryway.

There was one more photo stop before our return to the riverboat. It was a memorial to Queen Victoria who reigned during the time that India was controlled by the British. I didn’t expect it to be a huge marble building but she had been declared Empress of India back in the day. It is said to be the largest monument to a monarch in the world.

Across the street from the monument we caught sight of lavishly decorated carriages drawn by horses. Another picture moment before boarding our bus and continuing on to the Ganges Voyager II for our last night aboard.

The wonderful thing about a cruise like this with a small group of people (38 of us) was the friendships made. We had dinner with the two of the friends we had dined with most of the time, one a Brit and the other a Scot and both with a great sense of humor. Many laughs will be long remembered and tender moments cherished.

The next day, people disembarked in small groups until the last of us were left. Eleven of us were on the same Emirates flight to Dubai and we were picked up in the afternoon around three. Our flight wasn’t until 8:20 pm but we were afforded the day on the GVII to relax and enjoy breakfast and lunch. The trip to the airport took a little over an hour due to traffic.

Security at Kolkata did not seem to be quite as confusing as it was in Jaipur but then we were a little experienced now. Still there were two lines for the “frisk”, one male, one female. Once through security, we found the airport much nicer than we had expected. 

We had a little bit of a wait but it was an opportunity to enjoy the company of our friends for a little longer. Once in Dubai we would all go separate ways. 

Our flight to Barcelona where we were booked on a transatlantic cruise to Miami (no long flight home and an easier adjustment to time changes) would be a little more than seven hours. No business class this time. No sleep. Ah, well, the side effects of travel.

Next stop, Barcelona!