Kolkata Travel Diary 2015- A travelogue by Aadi

AWe have a new contributor to this blog!!!

It is with great pride I share my ten year old son’s first post. He is my fellow foodie and a lot of the dishes are tasted or inspired by him. As he starts middle school, I thought it was time for him to join me on the Spice Chronicles team.

In fact, he and his able sister will eventually take the helms of video making but we shall talk about that later and Aadi has started this charge, with gusto, what he lack in precision he makes up in enthusiasm, as evidenced in this video but today is about his first travel post, and of course it has to be about Kolkata.

Impressionable Experiences

My experience in Kolkata was great. I saw the culture of India in the Artisan Fair. I enjoyed playing with Rurdo, a native 3 year old boy. The food was the best. At a mall called Mani Square, I tried a new flavor of ice cream. I also had a unique type of dumpling called a momo. I went on a boat ride on the River Hoogly as a surprise from my mom. We even went to a museum called Science City where we saw some amazing things. I realized that I could still be friends with someone who speaks a different language. River Hoogly is a large river running through Kolkata.

Playing with Rudro

On a bright sunny day, my sister Deepta and me would go outside and have a nice game of catch with a tiny soft green ball. A boy named Rudro would come and play. He didn’t speak our language, but that didn’t get in the way of us having fun. He would throw the ball when we rolled it to him. On a particularly wild lobb, it would go over the neighbor’s fence, and Deepta and I would climb over and get it back for him. Sadly, when we had to go inside he would start to cry.

The food was outstanding! Period. We had vegetables and chicken with lentils, rice, and yogurt. I asked my mother to make these lentils again for me, they are one of my favorites.

We also went to two other restaurants, and there was Indian style pizza, pasta, and baby corn. We also got a smorgasbord consisting of bread, cream cheese, smoked salmon, and capers.

In Science City, we learned how dinosaurs are connected to birds. We went on a monorail around the park to see it from a bird’s eye view. On this particular monorail, it ran completely green, because we pedaled it like a bicycle to power it. My dad went in the same cart as me, because at some points my legs slipped and I could not completely reach the pedals to their full extent. We were going to watch an IMAX movie about the Indian and African wilderness, but the line was three hours long.

We also saw some cool things at Science City. There was a fountain that moved in very interesting patterns. There was Indian music, and Dad, Deepta, and me relaxed on a bench in the cool spray of the fountain while we listened to the native music and my mom came to meet us at the museum. We also say a poor, homeless, kitten meowing at it’s mother from the other side of the busy road. Neither of them could cross without being hit. Luckily, the kitten had an opportunity and took it. It made it across.

Food, Food and More Food

At Mani Square, we brought fresh chicken momos and a date palm jaggery ice cream that is only available in the winter. For my sister, we got a special Indian dessert called cashew burfi. Obviously, it had cashews. For me, we got a chocolate burfi, because I am allergic to nuts. We brought them back home to New York without opening them in India. It was a really fun day.

At an Artisan Fair, we got some really nice gold and bronze statuettes for my friends: two owls, a turtle, and a elephant. We saw some beautifully woven dresses that my mom bought for herself and Deepta. We also saw other clothes and even people weaving straw hats. My dad got some spicy pickle to use as a sort of jam on bread. We saw Indian style slippers and even keychains.

My mom took us on a surprise boat ride on the River Hoogly. In the boat were Deepta, Dad, Mom, me, and my uncle.We sat together in a tiny cabin. For a while, we laughed and shared pictures. We then, when the men started rowing the boat, saw a suspension bridge called the Hoogly Bridge. Mesmerized, We took pictures off and admired the amazing image of the Hoogly Bridge.

A Ball for Rudro

We walked to a mall called City Center. We looked for a suitable ball for Rudro, because Deepta had kicked his ball into a thorny tree and it had become deflated. It was his favorite ball. We couldn’t find a good ball or kicking, so we gave him some toy cars.  A visit to the bookstore, resulted in meeting a Santa who gave us chocolate. We found some game sets and a travel book for Hong Kong, our next stop.

Overall, in Kolkata, my family and me had a great time. There were nice, comfy mattresses to sleep on, delicious food, and many, many great adventures. I look forward to going there again!