Namaste!
Teddy bear day (yes, it's a holiday here), started with a lie in. Despite the whole extra hour of sleep we were wrecked getting on the bus. You'll be glad to hear we used a different bus company, equipped with the luxury of seat belts. Our first stop was a beautiful Hindi temple, called Birla. We were blessed with orange tikas (a dot of paint in between our eyebrows), to signify our third eye, which many of us didn't know we had! They also give us protection from the gods against evil and enhance our supernatural powers.
The temple was made of white marble and contained impressive statues of the Hindu gods (a few of thousands). The Art History and Classics heads were impressed by the 'realistic drapery' and domes. We learnt that, unusually, no offerings were allowed in the temple so that people can be judged based on goodness rather than material offerings.
Next we were back on the bus and on the way to the next temple. It was a Jain temple (Jainism is a branch of Hinduism that believes in non violence). We weren't allowed to take photos, but the inside was covered in a mosaic of mirrors and coloured glass.
The next stop on our tour was India's first zoo. Lily-Ann mistakenly insulted a pelican and was squawked at, which scared everyone in the vicinity.
We were all really excited for lunch in an Indian restaurant (surprise surprise). We ate our way through many a basket of naan bread and tried lots of new dishes.
Our last stop was the Victoria memorial. We were impressed by its grandeur and surprised to learn that Queen Victoria never visited India. In the gardens, we found ourselves being asked again and again to take photos with people. This was fun at first, but quickly became annoying. Amy even attempted a few camera duels, which involved taking a photo of them before they take a photo of you.
When we got back, we played with the street kids we've made friends with throughout the week and took some great selfies with them. After a day of sightseeing, we all plan on chilling out for the evening before our 5am start tomorrow for morning mass.
Amy asked me to post a Limerick, so here goes:
ReplyDeleteFrom Killiney our girls flew in a hurry,
To Kolkata, and I have one worry,
Though they've taught kids to write,
And seen all the sights,
Has anyone learned to make curry?
(with apologies....)
Comment from Kate Cox (whose phone doesn't allow her to post for some reason) :
ReplyDelete"Well said David! I do hope Amy will come home with some recipes under her belt! Vegetarian ones of course. It all looks wonderful girls. And although I'm shook that Amy stole Coup without asking, I'm glad it's getting good use! Keep enjoying every day and don't forget to write in your journals, it will be a very precious memory in the future. Xx Kate