Kolkata Sight Seeing Tour

Hello everyone, we hope you're all well. Yesterday as promised we took to the streets of Kolkata to take in a few sights.

 Most Indian tradespeople don't have massive shops. They fit their work into small spaces usually at the bottom of buildings...

 We visited two amazingly ornate Jain temples known locally as the White and the Red temples. These structures are incredibly complicated and feature wonderful designs inspired by the past...

 You are supposed to make three trips around the temple's shrine to complete your prayers...

 Many Indians use the barber at the side of the road in a morning, a shave costs around 10 rupees (equivalent to 14 pence)

 Then we went to look at St. Paul's cathedral the most striking feature are the ceiling fans inside which keep everyone cool...

 Last stop was at the Victoria Memorial a treasure trove of ancient Indian history charting the rise and fall of the British Empire...

We did have time for a bit of fun... fun fair rides cost about the same as a shave! 

On a tour of Kolkata today so we probably won't get chance to post, but here's a couple of images from the last two days to give you a flavour of India...

Whitecross Assembly

 This afternoon Whitecross students delivered our assembly to around 800 students

They were fantastic and it was a great success...

Wedding

Last night we stumbled on an Indian wedding. Indian weddings are very elaborate and last over a period of days...

Wednesday Morning

This morning we were treated to an assembly by students from the lower Heritage school including a demonstration of traditional folk music...

 Our breakfast this morning was so tasty, everybody went back for seconds...

 After breakfast we took a bus to The Calcutta Botanical Gardens...

 Stood around the Great Banyan tree, which is the largest tree in the world. It's circumference is over 330 metres. It took us over seven minutes to walk around it...

 The branches of the tree grown down into the ground as well as the sky...

 Jodie in the cactus house trying not to get too close...

 One of many monkeys in the park... (They like to make fun out of dogs by dangling out of the trees)...

Taking in rays under the palms...

Tuesday Morning

This morning was all about the mime. After a gentle yoga session we had a fantastic lesson learning mime. We all got involved including Mr. Harriman! (It turns out he's not very good at mime)

 Learning some traditional mime techniques to tell stories without props...

 The Indian rope trick beautifully displayed by Jodie and Courtney...

Mr H trying to gain a few centimetres in height.

Monday Afternoon

Yesterday afternoon we took part in Archery and Rifle lesson before a relaxing swim to end the day!

 Robin Hood, Marion and their band of Whitecross merry students...

 Lily concentrating on hitting the target...

 Ryan getting tips on his aim...

 Rifleman McCarthy after almost hitting the bullseye...

 Phoebe showing us that girls can shoot just as well as boys...

Miss Rees practicing for the Olympics later this year.

Chowbagga Village

On Monday after breakfast we visited Chowbagga village, which is a short journey from the Heritage School. We were there to see some of the work the School has been doing to help the village. 

 Lily and Chloe in the primary school...

 a typical English lesson in the primary school...

 The village only has running water for one and a half hours a day. During that time all of the families in the village have to collect their water, wash clothes and take a shower. Water only comes out of the water pumps found in the street...

It was really strange seeing cow's just walking around the village. Lily

It was a massive culture shock. Zac

We saw kites swooping down to catch fish in the pond. Craig

We were taken into a traditional Indian home to see how local people live. Although the house are small, they are kept really clean and organised.

Some comments from this weekend...

I really enjoyed the weekend stay at Adhi's parents. I loved staying there, trying new food, meeting local people and getting to learn Hindi and Bengali. I'd also like to thank Adhi's parents, their staff and drivers, Adhi's Dad's my Indian hero.

Craig: Whitecross

This weekend I enjoyed spending time with everyone and getting along. It really did have to be the best weekend ever.

Chloe: Whitecross

Though it is difficult to choose one memory that sums up the experience of this trip, my take away from this weekend would be the bonfire and barbeque dinner. The blazing fire and conversations with both the UK and Indian students was a snapshot worthy of remembering.

Bipasha: Heritage

 When we visited the brick kiln we were treated to fresh coconut milk. It was amazing watching the coconuts being cut so quickly and with such skill!

 A refreshing drink in the midday sun for Mr Knapp (also known as two straws)...

Just before we left the countryside with our fantastic hosts and the wonderful family and staff of Adhi's family.

 Feeding wood to the clay oven the cook the food in the terra-cotta pots sealed with pastry...

Enjoying our lunch of vegetarian and goat dishes with rice grown on the farm...

We've had a fantastic weekend in the countryside experiencing a side of Indian life that many travellers would never see. We were warmly welcomed by Adhi's Mum and Dad who looked after us all weekend taking us on trips and cooking us some fantastic local food, including the lobster we saw being caught.

Fishermen at the farm catching fish and lobsters...

                                         Whitecross and Heritage students lighting a traditional Indian barbeque...

A quick post from Mr. Harriman.

"I have never ever seen anything so completely and utterly bonkers as this in my whole life."

Just a quick reflection on last night's drive from the airport into the centre of Kolkata, which was one of the most insane and fun experiences I've ever witnessed.

Things we lost and found again...

Phone
Laptop
Camera
Phone
Passports and money

We arrived in Kolkarta at 8pm on Thursday night after a final flight from Dubai. What a warm, friendly and enthusiastic reception we received!!! All the Heritage School students arrived to meet us at the Airport and we were greeted with a traditional Indian welcome. 

 It was great to see our friends...

 Whitecross students disappeared  into the warm Kolkata evening with their hosts and families.