Kolkata, Bhutan, Kalimpong 2008 - A Report 

Holiday of a Lifetime

(an account by Douglas Kattenhorn)

How do you describe the Holiday of a Lifetime? The answer is “ With difficulty”. But here goes. It started at Glasgow Airport on a cold first day of November in 2008. Lesley, my daughter, and I flew to Dubai, had about a twelve hour stopover, then off to Kolkata and into the heat of India having joined up with all but one of the eighteen-strong tour group at Dubai Airport. We were greeted by a facilitator called Farouk and, bedecked with garlands of fresh yellow carnations, were led to our buses which took us through the hot evening to our first hotel, the Lytton.

Although I had visited Bombay fifty years before, the smells, noise and apparently reckless driving still hit me with considerable force. There is nothing quite like it anywhere else in the world. Next day, after changing our pound notes into rupees in John Webster’s bedroom, we were transported to Mother Teresa’s Home for the Sick and Dying Destitutes - yes, that was the name over the entrance - established in 1952. We were welcomed by some of the patients even though they were obviously very ill, most were confined to bed and unable to even sit up. They appeared to be very well cared for by the nuns and young volunteers from around the world with whom we were privileged to chat while they folded sheets and other items from the ward we had seen on our way in.

On that first day we also visited a Kali (goddess of death and destruction) temple. Talk about chaotic. It was not a place of quiet contemplation, and outside, sacrificial goats were having their throats cut, decapitated, and the bodies carried, still twitching, to be skinned and prepared for cooking. I have to miss out a lot to make this piece short enough for the web-site. Suffice it to say that every day was packed with interesting events.

One memorable visit was to a “deprived” area where we were warmly welcomed by people living in very dilapidated single-storeyed buildings. Each home consisted of one room, no more than ten feet square, without running water or sanitation. One dear lady lived in such accommodation with two other adults and three children. She slept on the floor under a waist-high bed and graciously invited us into her immaculately kept home. Other places visited in Kolkata included South Park Street Cemetery where the Rah buried their own from 1767 to the early 1800s, the Scottish Cemetery, St John’s Church and, close by, a monument to those who allegedly died in the Black Hole of Calcutta, and Mother Teresa’s Home where lies her body in a tomb. We also had a sail on the Ganges and experienced the smells and sights of probably the dirtiest river in the world. Then to a complete contrast in the Vedic Village Spa Resort outside the city and a welcome chance to enjoy luxurious living including swimming, massages, facials, 5-star accommodation and excellent food.

On the road back into town next day I saw a small car with nine children in it and a motorcycle with a family of four happily speeding along and not a helmet in sight. The driving in India seems at first sight to be chaotic, yet as you get used to it there appears a kind of order in which although horns are blaring all the time nobody loses their temper and serious accidents are avoided by hair’s breadths. Wing mirrors are always folded back or missing to give extra leeway.

After a very early start and a comfortable flight we arrived at the beautiful airport at Paro in Bhutan set amid the mountains. We were welcomed by the Managing Director of The Gangtey Palace Expeditions Company and the Hotel Gangtey Palace, a gorgeous young lady call Chukie-Om Dorji. Bhutan is a kingdom but royalty has decreed that it should also be a democracy which came into effect earlier in 2008. The main plank of the constitution is Gross National Happiness and it really was evident in abundance. I have never seen such a happy, friendly people. Although the new young king (29) has been in charge since 2006 when his 52-year old father abdicated in his favour, the coronation did not take place until early November 2008. Some of the tour party went to subsequent celebrations in the capital, Thimpu. Five of us went on the trek which was challenging for the older members but most enjoyable. Camping was a doddle as we were looked after by six Bhutanese men who erected the tents, cooked our food and even organised local people to dance and sing around a bonfire. It was magical. In the places we camped we were treated to warm smiling welcomes by local children who were very interested in such curious people. They were very polite, well dressed, well educated and very happy to be photographed and chat with us about their lives in Bhutan.

After the trek we were taken by bus to the capital, Thimpu, where we rejoined the rest of the party. On the way, it being 11th November, we stopped at a high pass and John led us in a short act of worship. It was a wonderful experience to share in a simple service of remembrance in such beautiful surroundings with the mountains in the distance and Buddhist stupas close by. That evening we were entertained by professional dancers and musicians and met the Chief Justice, Head of the Royal Bodyguard, another Royal Army high ranker, the editor of the local paper and the next ambassadress to India. The Prime Minister sent his apologies as he had to attend his son’s wedding. The Prime Minister, the Chief Justice and the Head of the Royal Bodyguard are all ex pupils of Dr Graham’s Homes and were there when John was Chaplain. They obviously had a very high regard for him.

Next day we made our way south to Phuntsholing on the border with India. The road, as we have come to expect, was appalling. Long stretches were being widened and under repair with what seemed like hundreds and hundreds of men and women, mainly Indian because of the closeness to the Indian border, labouring on breaking huge rocks into small pieces for bottoming and then placing them by hand to form the base of the new road. Glad to be away from a slightly grotty hotel and a not very pleasant town, we were heading for Kalimpong but stopped beside the River Tista for a packed lunch which included, among some good things, cold chips and warm mango juice. We had an abortive attempt to see one of the tea plantations which seemed to cover the whole of the area in the northern part of our journey. We later saw rice being cut and threshed by hand and I thought it must be a second crop as Bhutan’s harvest was over some time ago.

We had an early start from our hotel in Kalimpong on the following day, a Friday, to attend the service in the Katherine Graham Memorial Chapel. The party sat at the front and were introduced individually to the boys and girls, each of us turning to face them and just say “Hello”. The singing of the children was impressive and I was greatly moved by thoughts of the children and how my late wife would have felt if she had been with me there.

Anthony, one of the children I sponsor, waited outside the church with his friend Donald. We had a great time meeting for the first time having only been in touch by letters and postcards. He is a fine young man with an outgoing personality and a ready smile. He has not had a very happy childhood and at fifteen has been deprived of a good education until reaching the school at The Homes. We later visited the Museum which has a splendid model of the school buildings and the children’s cottages laid out on the hillside with the Himalayas as a backdrop and a picture of Dr Graham looking on. The first page of the Register is on display and the first six children’s details are there to examine including the nationalities of their parents and the fathers’ occupations. Entertainment was then provided for us by the Nepali staff at the Farm and we sat in our garlands of fresh flowers and silk scarves enthralled by the music, dancing and singing of many talented very young and older people.

Our next stop was at the Tibetan School in Kalimpong where over 400 pupils are taught. The Principal, Kesang Tenzing, was a former pupil of The Homes and had a fascinating story to tell of his escape from Tibet by mule and on foot as a young child and his subsequent experiences, with John featuring quite a lot in the narrative. The Kindergarten at The Homes is a joy to visit. We saw these little children having great fun with balloons to celebrate Children’s Day on Pandit Nehru’s Birthday. They were all wearing very colourful jumpers or cardigans knitted for them by a group of ladies from Scotland attached to The Royal Horticultural Society. They sang choruses with actions and in return my daughter, Lesley, and another young member of the party, Joanna, taught them “Head, shoulders, knees and toes” to the tune of “There’s a Tavern in the Town”. They picked it up quickly and had a lot of fun with it. Their smiles and laughter gave us all a tremendous lift and showed how truly beneficial is the work being done here.

Lesley and I were to play host on the Saturday to seven children consisting of the two children I sponsor, Anthony and Angela, and two children sponsored by friends of mine, and their friends. Anthony, I was told, arrived an hour early at the rendezvous at The Homes so eager was he to meet us again. Angela, who is only ten years old, was very shy. I think the occasion got to her and she was probably overcome by meeting me, an old man, for the first time. Her letters have always been newsy and well written and usually end with a coloured drawing of some aspect of her life. Her letters after the visit continue to be full of information and interesting snippets about her life at The Homes. We all had a good lunch at the hotel and then retired to the town of Kalimpong to do some shopping. As far as I’m concerned the highlight of the afternoon was Anthony returning to the Jeep with a plastic bag containing two pairs of quite good quality trainers, a jar of Brylcreem hair gel and a bottle of shampoo, all for the equivalent of £6.50. That boy will go places as a haggler if nothing else! Angela, more sedately, returned with a very attractive top from a shop called “Snow White”.

Sunday saw us all at morning service with a sermon from John and a concert afterwards by the school choir. Again a most moving experience. If you ask me for my “gulp” moment of the whole tour, it was sitting beside Anthony with my daughter on his other side listening to the choir singing a medley from “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”. I shall never forget it.

A bit of a mix up on the mail train overnight journey from Saliguri to Kolkata made for an interesting interlude. One of the sleeping compartments we occupied was actually booked for the Minister for Rural Development and after some discussion with his armed guard we decided to withdraw. The officer in charge became quite chatty eventually and disclosed that his daughter was studying at the University of Glasgow . It’s a small world. Back to the Vedic Village Spa Resort to finish our fabulous tour. With her remaining rupees my daughter treated me to the “Vedic Glow”, a full body massage, head massage and facial. I hadn’t felt so good for a long time. The flight home was uneventful. We had a twenty hour stopover in Dubai at a very comfortable apartment hotel where most of the party had fish and chips for their evening meal as light relief from Indian food for nearly three weeks. My daughter and I have already booked our places on the 2009 3 Ks (Kolkata, Kathmandu and Kalimpong) holiday to Nepal and India. If that’s not recommendation enough I don’t know what is. I would recommend John Webster’s tour to anyone who wants to see the real India, the Himalayas, the school and children at Kalimpong and who wants to enjoy the good company of like-minded folk.