Kolkata April 2005
I arrived in the early hours of 20 April and went straight to the Fairlawn Hotel in Sudder Street. A small gate entrance leads you to a wonderful lush green courtyard brimming with palms and foliage. There is no front door, the side of the hotel is completely open and immediately from the courtyard you step into a small area with comfortable seating. Beyond that is the dining room so all who dine can see who is coming and going in and out of the hotel. With plenty of ceiling fans and a gentle breeze, even in the hottest of weather, it was a nice place to sit and relax, you can hear the bustle of Kolkata only a few yards away but you are cocooned from it all in the nicest possible way on the terrace at the Fairlawn.
I met Violet Smith (the owner) a few hours later during breakfast, but after arriving and completing the myriad of papers at reception I was shown to my room. It was in a nice quiet location right next to the roof garden. with twin beds, air conditioning a TV, fridge and a bathroom it was quite adequate and more importantly clean. This was to be my base for the next 3 weeks, and the idiosyncrasies of Indian plumbing, electrics and thunderstorms were all ahead of me!
The Fairlawn Hotel
My time at the Armenian College
I was to spend 3 weeks based at the Armenian College working on the biography I was writing on Sir Catchick Paul Chater to coincide with the pilgrimage to Hong Kong to commemorate and revere this great man. I was in the same office at Sonia John, her secretary Colleen Blanche and the assistant manager Michael Stephen. They were just brilliant. They made me feel very welcome and it wasn't long at all before I felt part of the team, integrating with them was easy, they were all so easy going. I had lunch everyday at the college eating with Colleen and Michael. Sonia preferred to eat and work at her desk because of her very busy work schedule.
It was very hot when I was in Kolkata and I wasn't used to the excessive heat, so I was drinking gallons of water, the kids however, just took a dip in the pool - lucky them! However, one morning they failed to get up for their morning run, so the pool was out of bounds for a couple of days! They soon found their feet and they were back in the water all too soon. What struck me was the easy manner the boys had with the staff, particularly Michael. There was lots of jovial banter and good natured chatter, and both boys and girls were always so polite when I was walking around the college or when they came to the office for whatever reason.
The college and the kids.............
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| one of the classrooms | some of the boys | the computer studies classroom |
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| The library, not usually like this, but it was being re-organised | the pool - so inviting in that heat! | another classroom |
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| some very proud boys | the boys presentation at the 2005 investiture | The dining room |
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| the girls presentation at the 2005 investiture
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the other children and teachers look on | Henrik, an ex student of the college back to coach rugby |
My time in Kolkata ended all too soon but I came away with very happy memories of a very colourful city. It buzzed, it was chaotic, it wafted the smell of spices on street corners and smoke and diesel at the same time. The people were so warm and friendly and my child-like attempts at trying to speak a few words in the native tongue brought hoots of laughter from the local tea seller outside of the hotel - I'm sure he thought I was quite mad!
Anyway, I returned home to prepare for the next part of this unique and remarkable experience I was encountering. Having enjoyed Kolkata and felt surprisingly comfortable there, I wondered what Hong Kong would be like.
