VISIT TO BANGLADESH: March 22 to April 4, 2008

I left Roorkee by the morning train on March 22, 2008. This was not the best day to travel as it was Holi a day given to much rambunctious behavior. The only incident was a bomb thrown at our carriage! A bomb made of fresh cow manure loaded in a plastic bag! A young lady sitting by the window was hit directly and her clothes messed up, really not very funny. I got to Delhi at mid day. It took some time to arrange a taxi to Tejvir’s home in Gurgaon. Tejvir is Naipal’s nephew and works as a pilot for Kingfisher Airlines. The travel agent had booked me with the competitor Jet Airways. I flew from New Delhi to Kolkata (Calcutta) with Jet Lite. From Kolkata to Chittagong I flew by GWG a Bangladeshi airline that flies Canadian Dash 8 aircraft. It was a relatively short hop across the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta. The complexity of the river channels – main channels and distributaries is amazing. We saw only a part of this on the way out but more was visible on the return journey. At the airport in Chittagong I was met by my host Debesh Chakraborty. I was the only tourist on the plane. Bangladesh is not a hot tourist destination. Debesh is the father of a good friend from St.John’s.

I stayed with the Debesh and wife Anjulika (Didi) as a member of their family and met friends and relations many of whom live close by. Their house is close to the bazaar district. On the second day there I was taken on a tour of Chittagong City and environs. Chittagong is the main sea port and second city of Bangladesh and famous for its ship breaking industry. Following a visit to a ship breaking yard, or more correctly an abandoned yard, we then visited the cantonment area characterized by low hills and several small lakes and popular picnic areas.

A highlight of my visit was a trip to Cox’s Bazaar a beach resort area some 150 km south of Chittagong. I stayed with in the Burmese market with the Mong family a friend of Debesh in an apartment above their store. A group (tribe) of Burmese people was settled in Cox’s Bazaar by the British following a colonial misadventure of a century ago. The people retain their language and Buddhist culture and the town and surrounding area contains several Buddhist temples. I traveled to Cox’s Bazaar and back on buses of the S.Alam Company. Over my three day visit to Cox’s Bazaar I saw the most famous temples, visited a safari park (zoo) and inspected the famous beach, reputed to be one of the longest in the world. It was impressive enough but I prefer the golden sand beaches of Sri Lanka to the brownish beach at Cox’s Bazaar.

While in Chittagong I would go out every day to explore the nearby bazaars and look for fruit or coconuts etc. I was disappointed to find out that much of the fruit was imported – apples from China, mangoes from India and papayas from Thailand! Local fruit was also available but the quality was poor, typically fruit were picked too green and quality further compromised by lack of care in handling and transportation. As elsewhere in South Asia different types of businesses tend to be grouped together. On Satish Badu Lane near the house was the drum bazaar, with two shops manufacturing drums (dolaks and tables) and a third shop renting drums and regalia for anyone needing to dress-up a wedding band. A couple of streets over was a bazaar specializing in selling clothes that were rejected for export (mainly missed orders) as the quality of the clothes were perfectly acceptable. I bought three shirts for about $ 7.00 which will keep me looking respectable for another year at least.

I would have liked to visit Karnafuli Hydropower Station and Reservoir, located in the Chittagong Hill Tract. It was recommended in my somewhat outdated tourist guide book but I discovered that a special permit is required and besides the area was considered somewhat dangerous. (Since my passport was with the Indian High Commission this venture was not feasible in any case.) The large lake created behind the dam (246 sq.km) is the main attraction. In countries where lakes are few - reservoirs are much appreciated! This is Bangladesh’s only hydro plant and supplies 25% of the country’s electricity. Bangladesh has a large resource of natural gas that is used for powering cars and scooter rickshaws and also thermal power plants.

I left Bangladesh on April 2 via air to Kolkata. I found a hotel on Sutter Street near the Maidan (Central Park) and spent the balance of the afternoon exploring. I visited the Indian Museum: Gallery on Economic Botany. The custodians would not allow me to take my bag and camera inside and unfortunately I also left my glasses with them. The exhibits hall was dark and the exhibits very old. It was interesting but badly in need of rejuvenation. From there I crossed the road into the Maidan. I enjoyed a horse show (a rehearsal probably) by the Kolkata mounted police. The music was from another age – Daisy-Daisy a favourite of my Mother’s and popular in the 1920’s!

The following morning I left Howrah Station on the Poorva Express to New Delhi. On the way to the station I caught glimpses of the famous Writer’s Building and some of the other old buildings and realized that there was a lot to see and do in Kolkata and that I really should have stayed there two or three days.

We left the station at 8:30 a.m. more or less on time. The route took us across West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. One could see the gradual evolution from wet tropical Bengal to the dry savannas of Bihar. In the afternoon we ran into an un-seasonal rain storm that slowed us down. We reached Uttar Pradesh at nightfall and should have traversed the whole state in the dark but we did get to see quite a bit of it the following morning as the train was running three hours behind schedule by then.

I traveled in a Three Tier Air Conditioned coach. It was similar in layout to the old (1960’s) trains with compartments for eight. The seat, luggage rack and back rest provide three berths. The back rest is hinged so at bed time it can be raised into a horizontal position and suspended by a couple of chains. Opposite there was a similar setup. Across the aisle there were two berths, the upper a luggage rack and the lower formed by lowering the high back rests. This layout favours socializing and I enjoyed the company of fellow passengers: a business man from Kashmir, a Sikh mechanic, a police officer and an old lady on pilgrimage. In the adjacent compartment were a couple of Bengali families on holiday.

Clean pillows bed sheets and blankets were provided and meals could be ordered – the usual choices veg and non-veg! Vendors patrolled the aisle selling snacks, tomato soup, newspapers, sweets and namkeen (salty snacks, nuts and chips and the like) as we traveled along.

I had traveled much of this route in 1964 and remembered the stations that I had visited then – Durgapur, Gaya and Varanasi Junction.

The late arrival in New Delhi meant that we arrived at a more convenient hour, 10:00 a.m. rather than 7:00 a.m. I had some time to kill in Delhi, as my connecting train was not until 3:25 p.m. So after freshening up at the YWCA I headed out to the National Museum. This modern museum is devoted to archaeology and history and has some rare collections, notably: artifacts from the Harappan civilization that must be 5000 years old. The museum policy is very customer friendly and one is permitted to take pictures - as many as one likes. There is also a good restaurant in the museum. So after having my full of sights, photos and food, I headed back to the YWCA to pick up my knapsack and from there went to catch my train back to Roorkee.

The cost of rail travel is amazingly low amounting to Rs. 1023/- ($ 25.00) for travel across India and Roorkee to New Delhi both ways, about 1850 km in total. Additionally as a senior citizen I got a 20% reduction! Then next day it was back to work.

Enjoy the photos.

MORE ON NICOLE’S VISIT (DEC. 18. - 29)

I will attempt to recapitulate the high points about the remainder of Nicole’s visit.

Early on Tuesday Dec 18 we left Ghaziabad by train for Roorkee. Ghaziabad Station is old and grimy unlike some of the smaller stations I saw elsewhere which are cleaner and prettier often embellished by shade trees and/or small gardens-cum-rest areas. At about 7:45 a.m. we boarded the train and then dragged our luggage through several coaches until we arrived at the correct one and found our seats. The train (Janshatabdi Express) is a comfortable way to travel and the country side scenes from the train more appealing than the continuous strip development visible along the highway. We also were served breakfast that was included in our tickets. After a relaxing trip we arrived in Roorkee at about 10:30 a.m. From the station we hired a bicycle-rickshaw to take us to the campus of I.I.T Roorkee and my apartment.

While on campus Nicole joined me and my professor friends for our regular 6:00 p.m. tea sessions at the K.I.H. Café. She also met my younger student friends, Sarah from Mongolia, Chintamanie from Guyana, Ravindra from Calcutta and others at the K.I.H Mess and Café or at the trendier Nescafe Cafe. She also came over to the office to meet my colleagues and use my computer. I.I.T. Roorkee is known more for simple pleasures of tea and conversation plus the delightful lawns and gardens. The bird life is also varied and at times noisy. While Nicole explored I had to go back to work.

On Friday Dec 21 we left on another adventure via rented car some 250 km to Ramnagar. This town is at the south east corner of Corbett National Park: India’s first nature reserve which is named after the English writer and naturalist Jim Corbett. Corbett lived most of his life in the area and was famous for hunting down man-eating tigers that were once a problem here. His books are well known and still in print after more than 80 years. Corbett was one of my father’s favourite authors and I remember reading some of his stories in Jamaica when I was 10 or 11 years old. I did not imagine then that one day I would visit Rudraprayag District scene of one of Corbett’s most famous books! But I digress. We did not realize that we had chosen the most popular weekend of the year for visiting the park. This limited our options. The lodges within the park were all full and the day long safaris all booked up. Our only option was the afternoon (4 hour) tour through the southern part of the park on the afternoon of December 22 (I spent most of the morning at the park office lining up to get our permit). For our safari we hired a Gypsy (Suzuki jeep) and guide. The park is located on the flanks of the Siwalik range of the Himalayas and lies partly on the plains and partly in the hills. The Ramganga River and its smaller tributaries Mandal, Palain and Sonanadi flow through the park. The river is controlled by a dam at Kakagarh and its reservoir also lies within the park. This location provides a wide variety of habitats and is reflected by the exceptional variety of plants, birds and animals that are found in the park. In the park we encountered a fair variety of bird life, notably: water fowl, a pair of eagles and their nest, peacocks in their roosting area, etc. We saw many deer of three varieties, sambur deer, spotted deer and barking deer and troops of langur monkeys. We saw lots of tiger tracks in the dust, a tiger den but no tigers (we were told that there about 143 tigers and 60 leopards in the park based on the last census). As we were leaving the park we came upon an elephant family: father, mother and baby. This in part compensated us for not seeing a tiger; unfortunately, it was too late to take pictures.

Friday and Saturday nights we stayed in a pleasant two star hotel in Ramnagar. On our last day Sunday Dec 23 we traveled to nearby Corbett Falls and Kaladunghi where we visited Corbett’s home which is now a museum. Then we headed back to Roorkee. On the way back we had time for a quick visit to Haridwar to see the famous bathing ghats along the Ganga and lo and behold I bumped into one of my acquaintances from I.I.T. Roorkee! At this time of year the crowds are small but during the summer pilgrim (yatri) season the visitors are numbered in the hundreds of thousands!

Next evening it was Christmas Eve and we decided to attend the campus church. We joined a camp fire for songs (just a few) and tea. The small group seemed to be mostly the pastor’s extended family. The next day we attended the English service that was led by one of the students. Nicole was recruited to join the choir of 3 or 4. They wisely did not extend an invitation to me. The sermon went well for about ten minutes but the speaker kept on for another 35 minutes but added no further enlightenment. Later that afternoon we visited Dr. Satya Prakash and wife Ilona for tea and pastries. Satya was a post doctoral student in Budapest many years ago where he met and married Ilona. So it was an occasion to swap stories about Hungary. We finished the day with Christmas dinner prepared by Cintamanie in his apartment. Chintamanie has come further than anyone else to study at Roorkee. His home is Guyana in South America. I am the second furthest travellor!

On our last night (Dec 27) we were treated to supper by Snigdha Sanyal a horticulturist and architect. Since this meeting Snigdha has married and moved to England where she has recently fond a job as a landscape architect (Nicole keeps in touch).

Nicole’s last day was Dec 28. We left by train to Delhi arriving at 11:00 a.m. and headed over to the YWCA where I had reserved a room for the night. As her plane did not leave until the wee hours of the Dec 29 we had most of the day to explore other sights in New Delhi; so after lunch we went over to the railway museum to view the trains and carriages of earlier times, some quite familiar to me from the 1960’s during the last days of the age of steam.

Note added by Nicole:

Back in New Delhi, we returned to the Kwality restaurant for a final meal before my flight. Yummy mutton kebabs, peas pullao, lentils and tutti-frutti ice cream were on the menu.

Our kind and friendly waiter, tentatively struck up a conversation with us. (Dad’s ability to communicate in Hindi was often a source of curiousity).

It turned out that the waiter’s grandfather, a retired Gurkha, had worked at the Canadian embassy in Delhi, and as a child, our waiter used to play with the Canadian children
(Wait – it gets even more interesting!)

If Gurkha, then Nepal! This provided Dad with an opportunity to speak some Nepali – and need I say our waiter was delighted. I hazarded to ask him where he was from exactly and he replied, figuring we’d never have heard of his village.

But then Dad surprised him again, but saying he’d even stayed there overnight in a hotel!

There was laughter and, taking a photo of us with his mobile phone as a souvenir, he shook our hands and with smiles, greeted us a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

What a great way to end my visit with Daddio in India! 

Me again: After an early supper and a few relaxing hours at the YMCA we left by taxi to the airport 2½ hours ahead of the scheduled flight departure. I left Nicole to fend for herself in the chaos of the airport. She managed well enough but needed the full 2½ hours to get through all the formalities.

It was fun to have company over Christmas and Nicole also enjoyed her holiday with Dad. Enjoy the attached pictures.

Nicole's Visit/Triangular Tour (Dec 13 -17)

INDIA - December 12-29, 2007

When I learned that my Dad had successfully secured a post in India, I knew that I must join him for a visit. Having grown up hearing stories of his time there in the sixties and knowing how India holds a special place in his heart, it was clear that he would be guide second to none.

(Besides, it was time to learn what the words we were used to hearing as kids – “chalo” and “nimbo pane” - came from!)

As the Fates would have it, it worked out better for me to fly out from Vienna than Budapest. After soaking in some of the atmosphere at the Vienna Christmas Market, it was time to trade Europe for Asia.

My flight arrived very late in Delhi, and from the mass of people at immigration, it was not the only one! After a somewhat stressful time getting pushed and nudged along, thankfully my passport was stamped and I found my way through the confusion of renovations to the exit. In the sea of brown faces at arrivals, there was Daddio, all smiles and arms outstretched for a great big hug. Meanwhile outside, our taxi with driver was waiting.

How did I know I was in India? The honking of the traffic and the scent of the night air were clues. But I really knew I had arrived when I saw a white bull standing under a tree in the parking lot!

We stayed three nights at the YWCA, on Parliament Street. Each night I slept in a different room, and had more or less success staying warm using the heater. I had not expected it to be so cold in Delhi (below 10 degrees Celsius). Dad joked that the Y was covered in a blanket because of the weather. (In fact, it was covered by scaffolding as major renovations were underway).

(Dec 12) Dad was off in the morning to a local hospital for a head-to-toe, executive physical, which gave me time to rest and recover from my travels. Thanks to the TV. provided in my room, I also made the first of my great discoveries about India - Bollywood! (I love that there's music and dance in the films and I've since become such a fan that I bought a few movies on disc and even watch in Hindi without English subtitles!)

For lunch, we walked to a restaurant at Connaught Place, a famous Delhi landmark, characterized by an inner and outer circle and British Victorian architecture. Getting there meant cautiously crossing the street amongst the vehicles colourful and various, waving off beggars and street vendors and not tripping on roots or holes in the sidewalk.

Our tummies pleasantly full, we found a putt putt (motorized rickshaw) driver willing to take us to Purana Qila, the old fort. The air was hazy and the smoke made me cough, but we had a nice drive and stroll, and I took my first pictures.


(Dec 13) followed with a city tour covering New and Old Delhi in a tour bus.

Setting off from the tourist office located near a bazaar (it was flower market day), we spent the morning visiting important monuments such as Jantar Mantar (astrological observatory dating from the 1700’s the structures reminded me of works by Salvador Dali); Birla Mandir (20th century Hindu Temple inaugurate by Gandhi); and Qutab Minar (the tallest brick minaret in the world) and surrounding buildings most of which were in ruins.

After a quick stop to view the goods on sale at the Indian Textile Corp, our next stop was the Bahai Lotus Temple with its nine entrances representing the nine main world religions before lunch back at the tourist office coffee house. There I made my next discovery - elaichi (cardamom) tea!

In the afternoon, we drove through the noisy, narrow streets of Old Delhi. I remember school children running alongside our bus and making faces; lots and lots of little shops opening onto the street! I also spied two toddlers making away with puppies from a litter with the mother dog trying to corral them back!

Continuing our tour, we visited Lal Qila (Red Fort) an impressive complex mostly developed by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, which includes the royal and public pavilions. I was most impressed by the marble inlaid work which we later found again at Taj Mahal in Agra.

Our next stop was the Raj Ghat which is a simple memorial to Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhiji marking the site of his cremation. As I visited, walking in stockinged feet, music was playing and it was very moving.

Finally as the sun was beginning to lie low in the sky, we arrived at Humayun’s tomb, another most impressive example of Mughal architecture. Much as I was ready to become trigger-happy with my digital camera, Dad quietly let me know that it would pale in comparison to the Taj.

Our bus drove again through the streets back to the part of the city that puts the “New” in - New Delhi and, after a wee rest, we headed out to Connaught place again to a restaurant called the Banana Leaf where Southern Indian cuisine was on the menu. Dad told how when he lived in Sri Lanka he’d eat off a banana leaf which would then be swished off and then pushed through an opening in the wall of the restaurant, on the other side of which was a cow! Talk about yer recycling!

At this restaurant, was Discovery #3 halua, Indian sweet desserts!

Having travelled to Kathmandu some years ago, I couldn’t help but compare the two national capitals. Delhi surprised me being so very busy and noisy. It was such a mix of modern urban landscape and oriental bazaar. It was dirty with dust and trash everywhere, stray dogs and the occasional monkey, people sitting on sidewalks selling peanuts with a little open fire?. People were walking the streets hawking sleeping bags and handkerchiefs. Sharing the streets with the rickshaws and trucks were cars of all makes including luxury ones. Then of course there was the occasional cow. The Indian capital struck me more political and commercial than spiritual and more modern than the living museum that is Kathmandu.

*The Triangular Tour December 14-15-16*

/December 14/
After a lazy breakfast at the Y in the company of two French ladies, one of whom was on her way to attend some public lectures of the Dalai Lama, we met Ravi our driver to start out on the way to Jaipur.

There was a lot of haze and smog along the National Highway with poor visibility that reminded me of the fog of my native Newfoundland .

Having exited the city and passed through some new housing developments for the new middle-class, we gradually entered an area of fields and farmland and escaped the haze and air pollution of Delhi. I must say the roads we traveled were in excellent condition and that despite constant deviations due to construction to widen them. One wonders just how much traffic is expected along these roads in the coming years.

What did we see of the Indian countryside? Mustard, wheat, occasionally fields of rice. A camel, camels, and more camels! We passed though villages with their “strip malls” as Dad called them. Traffic. Cows. People. Sometimes a horse-drawn cart. Market stalls with fruits and vegetables. Such were the sights as we drove along.

After a stop for lunch (by which time the sun had come out so that we ate outside in a pleasant garden), we hit the road again. The terrain started to change becoming semi-arid and hilly. We had arrived in Rajasthan!

We first visited the Amber Palace, a remarkable fort with accompanying buildings that once was a royal capital before the founding of Jaipur. It is a very romantic setting in the rocky hills with a beautiful view and fascinating collection of buildings, of interest both for their beauty and their various functions.

I would love to return one day to see the new gardens which are currently being restored They grace the courtyard of rose-water scented fountains where the Maharaja and his Maharani would sit on a swing together during the monsoon rains.

After succumbing to the persistent (and ultimately successful) selling techniques of a young boy selling souvenir books, taking some photos of monkeys and descending from the hillside, we stopped alongside a very picturesque lake with a pavilion (once again under-renovation) and then visited a local government run (and perhaps therefore somewhat expensive) cooperative. The typical tourist goods: quilts, saris, dresses, men’s clothing and other textiles along with jewelry, figurines, prints and so on! were available and were certainly put on show. The man who greeted us and who presented various items to us certainly knew the sales scripts and I walked out having made my first purchases of gifts. (Later of course I learned I could have bought similar items for a much lower price, though I acknowledge, not of the same quality).

We arrived in Jaipur itself at twilight and so could not fully appreciate the so-called “pink city”? Passing the Hawa Mahal (palace of winds, a façade of terraced windows and screens behind which royal women would observe processions without being observed themselves), we made our way to our small hotel, the Jai Miswa, which I highly recommend.

/December 15/

Day 2 of the Triangular Tour began at the City Palace after breakfast at the hotel.

We visited an observatory very similar to the one in Delhi and took our time to examine the structures more carefully. Entering the palace proper, we viewed an exhibit of clothing and a workshop which reminded me of the Montreal flea market! It was very pleasant to stroll and chat with Dad within the palace complex and to take pictures without feeling pressed for time But time was of the essence so we left Jaipur, leaving much to be discovered, and hit the road en route to Agra via Bharatpur.

We spent two hours at the Keoladeo Ghana national park riding a rickshaw through the park accompanied by a guide on his bicycle. There was little water in the park due to poor monsoon rains, which made for a disappointment since Keoladeo Ghana is famous as a sanctuary for migratory water birds. Underground water was being pumped but was too saline to support the flocks which, we were told, had settled some 40-50 km from the sanctuary at a reservoir.

However we were rewarded by sightings of some of our feathered friends though in small numbers (notably -black-necked storks, Indian cranes, a heron and several Indian rollers) and were lucky to see many animals (sambar deer, spotted deer, nilgai a.k.a. blue antelope and a jackal).

As the sun was already setting as we head out again, we did not have time to visit the deserted city of Fathepur Sikri. I had been told it was not to be missed, and was glad for at least a view at a distance in the hazy sunset.

We arrived at a three-star hotel which made me feel somewhat lost. Were we still in India ? The place had a revolving restaurant! Supposedly there was a view of the Taj from my room, but it was hidden by the darkness by night and the haze by morning. But then, what did that since the following day, we were going to see the famous sight up close?

/December 16/

After a quick breakfast (in the no longer revolving restaurant), Ravi drove us as far as cars were allowed and then we went by rickshaw and shanks mare, arriving at the West Gate that leads to the Taj Mahal. At the ticket booth there was some frustration: the Indian rate was 20 rupees and for us foreigners it was 750 rupees! Also, the security was somewhat surreal. But it was all worth it once we entered.

It was a cool morning with great blue sky and tbe Taj Mahal was a beautiful sight. Dad suggested we walk in the parks first before walking to the famous main building. I am very glad we did that as it made me realize that the Taj is more about the white marble mausoleum, the famous temple of love. It is about the gardens and the other buildings, about the Yamuna River flowing behind, about imagining the Maharaja strolling contemplatively and quietly mourning his Maharaji within this sanctuary.

After a lovely visit and plenty of photos taken, we went on to Agra Fort where it took numerous attempts to purchase acceptable tickets. (Dad numerous times entered monuments at the Indian rate, showing his residence permit and impressing with his Hindi. However the Indian soldier who was controlling tickets had other ideas!) The architecture of the fort was very beautiful and there was a lovely, romantic view of the Taj Mahal from the river side of the Fort.

Leaving the crowded and somewhat dilapidated city of Agra, we made a stop at Sikandrabad, the tomb of Mughal Emperor Akbar. This was one of my favorite places we visited. The gates were particularily interested for the enormous flower inlays and symbols representing different religions. There were also deer and antelope in the park (!) though at safe distance from us. Our journey on the road back to Delhi brought us to a restaurant where they certainly pulled out all the stops for the tourists. Besides the usual restaurant and gift shop, we were greeted by a child dressed like Krishna and playing a stringed instrument (very annoying!) and received garlands of flowers. There were even snake charmers parked (!) outside the main entrance of what was in fact, a modern, hotel / villa / housing (?) complex.

Inside the restaurant, we were the only guests and we sat ourselves down to share a vegetarian lunch. Dad chatted with the waiters who were not a little fascinated that he speaks Hindi. There were the usual questions about where we are from, what we do, where we were going. Then the head waiter, Captain Raj Pal, had the grand idea of having Dad sign the guest book. Soon all of the waiters, some half dozen of them, encircled our table, cheerfully participating in the ceremony. The Captain dictated verses of praise for the service, and then it came to me to write the same in the guest book! in Hungarian! What a great moment that was! It makes me wonder if some of the greatest souls aren’t those who wait tables.

The drive through Delhi to Ghaziabad was tedious what with us getting stuck in rush hour Delhi traffic. Not much rushing to be done when everything's at a stand-still! Finally, after getting somewhat lost we were met by car in the dark by Vipin, Naipaul’s nephew, who escorted us to their home where we were received like - family!



For me, this was a turning point in my visit to India. Until then, I had visited monuments. Now I was able to discover India through meeting people and making friends.

(To be continued)