Travel Day 870 – Kolkata, INDIA
Today was another day of the usual Tabla routine, but since we got off class early, we went for a little exploration walk on the way home…
Rabindra Bharati Lake in Kolkata, India
This time we finally decided to explore the campus of Rabindra-Bharati-University which was close by and our main point of reference every time we tried to navigate back home when coming from the city. We could actually see the campus of this university where Indian music could be studied from our roof and so for many reasons it was great to have a look…
While it seemed inappropriate for us to enter the buildings, we decided to rather limit our visit to a stroll outside and some conversations with local students. Actually the students we talked to were from all over the place in India as well as Bangladesh and even Germany, which was quite surprising. But what was also quite surprising was the site of a nice small lake we found in the back of the campus with a little island. Within all the chaos and noise of the surrounding area, this lake really appeared as an extremely peaceful and quiet place and we were glad to have found it…
In the afternoon it was then back to the good old routine while practicing Tabla on the roof and in the sun. This afternoon time in the sun while practicing had become the most relaxing and enjoyable part of the routine days since it too was a quite peaceful environment and it felt really comforting to be practicing in the warmth of the low afternoon sun…
Colonial Hotel and Beer Garden in Kolkata
The evening was then reserved for another break of the usual routine. Not only was I going to the city to meet a friend’s sister from Germany, but I was also quite excited about the prospect of going to an outdoor beer garden. We were meeting at a hotel that was situated in a colonial building, dating back to 1783 and it was easy to imagine that even the former British owner used to sit in the colonnaded lobby to have a drink. For me it was not only a chance to see the building, but also to have my first beer in India… : )
While being outside and having a beer was nice, meeting and chatting with all the friend’s friends who had come was even better. The only downturn seemed to be that I missed the last subway back home, which left as early as 9.45pm. Since it took me forever to find and convince a taxi to go up north for an even astronomical price, the lesson learned of the day was to make sure to head home no later than 9.30pm from now on…
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