I’ve returned to Kolkata for my birthday and headed back to Park Street where my family were living when i was born. Alas, I couldn’t find our old flat but headed off exploring my old stomping ground. Across the Hoogly River (could be a song title) and under the famous Howrah bridge, we sploshed and splashed (slowly), Tilly and I.

A great ‘slum’ at the end of Park Street was fronted by loads of lovely women and girls who took a great shine to Tills and I haggled away with a couple of well-pissed young lads trying to make a bob or two from our visit. Our (exceedingly dull) guide got super-nervous and dragged us out, only having taken a couple of snaps. We ditched him fairly pronto and set out on our own after that…we couldn’t find the entrance the next day, unfortunately, so just these two pics .


The flower market on the banks of the Ghats is a mass of life and colour from dawn to dusk. great characters, amazing scents and bustling and buzzing. The spice market was round the corner. A fine camerapersons playground for sure.


Busses did bus-things on the bridge and ferries came and went. Tea-vendors vended, tasty snacks were munched and kids played street-cricket, the sculptors sculpted, but were few and far between as they’d just finished a big festival and were having a few well-deserved days off – but we saw one or two places that whet the appetite – maybe next time?


I managed to buy a bell from one of the famous rickshaw pullers which became my latest ‘photobag-lucky-charm’ and seemed to work a treat. Wonderful characters were spotted every-which-way. COLOUR!!!!caught our eye.
Brilliant spot and a day or two of relaxing and sleeping in as a birthday treat as well!
new horizons 