NINTH WEEK
Wednesday 6 February Back to Kolkata. Uber taxi from Kalyani to Kolkata Book Fair at Central Park in Salt Lake, 825 rupees. Ritayan jumped off when we were near to DumDum, whereas Mridul joined me and Johan for a walk around the book fair. As usual a wide mix of exhibitors from ultra left Marxist-Leninists to HIndutva forces in the shape go Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). Johan was happy to find books on Lepcha culture both at the Sahitya Akademi’s stall and in a separate stall manned by ethnic Lepchas (which is a people living in northeastern India and in Bhutan. I bought a new English-Bengali dictionary for 245 rupees. Yellow taxi to Sardar Sankar Road. Quite hot today, the northern cold wind has been replaced by southern winds from the Indian Ocean. Johan went to Lake Mall to do some shopping, he bought a toaster and some other things to bring back too Samtse, as a well as vegetables and spices. Johan took a night train back to Bhutan, leaving Sardar Sankar Rd at 7 PM.
Thurday 7 February Staffan’s funeral in Allhelgonakyrkan in Lund. Sad to miss. But I have re-edited the English translation of my article in SYDASIEN, and made a page on my private web site. CT brain X-ray in Kolkata at 09.10. Marie had made this appointment, for Dr. Batra’s doctors. Took the metro to Rabindra Sadan and walked five minutes to the Eko X-Ray enterprise. One and half hours waiting before I was admitted to the scan room, and got contrast fluid injected in my right hand. The results to be collected tomorrow. After completed scan Marie and I went to Haldiram close by and had some snacks (phutshka for Marie, cheese pizza for me), and then metro back to Kalighat. Amazingly low price for metro ride, 5 rupees (same price also for daily newspapers).
Friday 8 February Collected the CT scan photos and then reported to Dr. Batra clinic at Minto Park. The scan photos showed no damages at all, my brain is totally normal, which is good considering my Parkinson. Went along with Marie with metro at 4 PM and returned home at 8 PM. That time Tutu and Tuki were there at Bonis flat, bringing some readymade food for us. Very hot day, spent most time starting to read Dalrymple’s book on the Anglo-Afghan war of 1839-42, very good reading.
Saturday 9 February Pleasant mild weather because of another change in weather. Took a walk in the morning, and sent out some Kolkata photos from december–february on Facebook. Otherwise as usual I woke up at 5.30, downloading today‘s Sydsvenskan and checked my mail and Facebook plus Datorbanken. Breakfast on the verandah at 8 AM. Marie does her yoga and meditation before. Thinking about our return journey on Tuesday, on how to pack. Marie will fly to Mumbai same morning and she she wants Bubu and me to travel together to the airport even though our Delhi/Copenhagen flight are 2,5 hours later than her. Time is 22.10, time to sleep, it has rained during the evening if only for a short time. Now the hot watcher gradually comes back, I reflect upon the coming difference, 29-30 degrees here to 6-8 in Lund on Tuesday. After waiting for relatives to visit, in vain it turned out, Marie and i went by metro at 5 PM to Esplanade and the tram depot, because I wanted to see the tram museum, in a converted carriage from 1938. Interesting to read about the history, first horse-drawn tram in 1873, and first electric one ran i 1902. After this we again went by metro to Rabindra Sadan, and from there walk to Minto Park and Dr Batra. As always in the metro nowadays i always is given a seat in the senior citizens department in the front of every carriage. At Dr Batra, Marie was given her medicine to cure her loss of hair, and I got Parkinson medicine for the coming 12 month. Uber taxi back home, at 8 PM, dinner prepared by Rana anGHood food (prasad) was served agterwaurds.d Bonnie..
Sunday 10 February Visiting Sudipta Bhattacharya, ICCR guest professor at Copenhagen Business School (CBS) 2011, invited to Lund for SASNET seminar and inspired us to ask Government of India for a ICCR professorship also at Lund, which we were given for four years. Uber taxi there at 6 PM with a reckless driver who dropped us at wrong address, that made us have to walk extra distance. Once there we had a nice evening with delicious food and intellectual talk on politics. Sudipta is still working as professor in Economics at Vishwa Bharati University in Shantiniketan, and his sweet wife works as a teacher in Jhargram whereas their daughter studies English at Presidency Universitity. The day was Saraswati puja, the yearly feast to the goddess of learning and culture, therefore extremely popular in Bengal. I bought an image last year, and that Rana used for a ceremony on the terrace outside our flat. In late morning,. Then we went by yellow taxi to Munjinis place near Hazra bridge, and experienced a communal puja organised by the neighbours. Lot of good food was served as prasad. home at 3 and after a vie whose we entertained guests, first an old friend of Bubu, and then Koka and his wife, from village Bagnan. Long time since we met last time. I created good mood by finding photos from their wedding in 1991 in my Cloud collection, and also photos of Koka at picnics during the 1990s.
Monday 11 February Final full day in Kolkata
Tuesday 12 February Air India flight Kolkata-Delhi at 10.25