My daughter, Ruth, and I had the pleasure of a two-week trip to Kolkata, which included a stay at the Oxford Mission in Behala. This was my second visit (the previous one eight years ago with my husband and two sons) and my daughter’s first.
Our wonderful friend and guide, Sanjib Mondal (ex old Oxford Mission boy and now a music teacher there) collected us from the airport and the memories of the traffic, smog and chaos came flooding back. In the eight years since my last visit, I was amazed by the amount of building work and development that is going on between the Chandra Bose International Airport and the city centre. My daily delight of reading the Kolkata Telegraph also enlightened me to the amount of development going on in the city.
Due to problems securing our visas, we only just made it in time for the Epiphany Service in the Oxford Mission chapel, which was just as I remembered, beautifully presented and organised with of course wonderful music and worship. It was good to see Kanchan Roy again and meet Bishop Ashoke at the Service and share some sweet tea and snacks afterwards!
The first five days of our visit were spent in the Oxford Mission compound. We were greeted by Colonel Ghosh and Reena (personal assistant) on arrival and, as always, Sambhu (cook) looked after us fabulously. The Mission garden was looking beautiful with all the ‘native’ British summer flowers out in bloom. Over the next few days, our enthusiastic and knowledgeable guides (Sanjib and Manab – another ex Oxford Mission boy) took us round the compound, particularly to show Ruth the layout of the side (having seen so many photographs from my previous visit). There were only a few boys left at St Nicks due to the holidays. We were sad to see the trees looking so unwell and hope that something can be done to save them.
We also took the opportunity to cross the Diamond Harbour Road and see the work of the Arunima Hospice, to meet the lovely ladies and gents of the Santi Nivash home for the elderly and see the extremely well-organised Sister Florence College of Nursing.
On the first Sunday after we arrived, we had a trip to the Ffort Raichak 5* hotel by the Ganges with Sanjib, his wife Seema, daughter Sarah and Tanmoy Mondol – it was somewhere I had not been before and it is a real oasis. On Monday morning, we visited St Paul’s Cathedral, which was shut on our arrival, but with a few quick phone calls from our ‘programme organisers’, it was opened for us to have a look inside. The Cathedral staff were busy with preparations for an ecumenical service that afternoon. Evidence of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s visit is shown in memorial stones, both at the cathedral and the Oxford Mission.
We visited New Market with Sanjib and Manab and the craft fair that was on in the square outside. We found some confusion and hilarity in the new parking system, whereby the car is lowered vertically on a platform about three floors down, and on production of your ticker is then found and raised from the depths. Sanjib was a little anxious that he would not get his car back in one piece and Manab wondered if he could ask to get a Mercedes back instead!! We were not convinced how well this system would work during the monsoon season!
On Tuesday, Sanjib collected us from the Mission and we crossed the New Howrah Bridge and had a long drive north to the Chinsurah Development Project funded by the Diocese and overseen by Fr Paritosh Canning. After lunch, we took a brief walk to the ferry jetty (where commuters cross the river). On our return, the children, at the after-school project, put on some fabulous performances for us: dancing, singing and a tableau.
Earplugs are a necessity, especially during our stay in Howrah, due to the close proximity to the train lines and flyover. Despite the unavoidable noise, we experienced such kindness and a wonderful welcome, alongside much fun and laughter.
Unfortunately, Ruth was unwell the next day, but I had the privilege of an audience with the incredibly-busy Bishop of Kolkata, the Rt Revd Ashoke Biswas. His ‘open door’ policy is quite remarkable and he bestowed on me the task of taking gifts back to our Diocesan Bishop in Wells, the Rt Revd Peter Price. Ruth felt better the next day and we were able to have a good look round St Thomas’ Church and St Thomas’ School. Interviews for the next year’s intake of students were taking place. The Head Master (Saurab Singh) managed to spare us a few moments to say hello and present us with a lovely gift. Using their official car, we were then taken to the Botanical Gardens and driven round the vast beautiful gardens to see the giant Banyan tree and lakes displaying exquisite water lilies. After another wonderful lunch, we headed off to Belur Math to visit the Sri Ramakrishna Temple. This was rather overwhelmed with people as it was the end of a festival, but it looked lovely with all the flowers that were on display.
At dinner, we met Mr and Mrs Naik, who jointly run St Thomas’ Hospital. We were invited to visit the Hospital the next day, and an ambulance collected us, thankfully empty and with no sirens going! Our first impressions of the hospital were wonderful. It was so calm, peaceful and impeccably clean. It was impressive to see the efficient running of all the departments. The staff were happy and welcoming, and our hosts gave us no end of time to look round and ask questions even though they were themselves very busy. They showed us the immunization programme that was going on and Ruth was particularly interested in the nutrition supplements and fortified food (salt) given out to those who attended the clinic. The hospital mainly looks after women and children suffering with tuberculosis. Working with other hospitals is essential as St Thomas’ has only limited space available. I cannot write in so few words the outstanding quality of work that is going on and the commitment they have to their mission.
That evening, we arrived to another warm welcome at Mrs Kanchan Roy’s house and to stay with her delightful family. We were happy to have had Kanchan and her late husband, Arijeet, to stay with us when they visited in 2004. Over the weekend we got to see another face of Kolkata - firstly, a trip to meet some of her work colleagues, then later shopping in South City Mall where there is a Marks and Spencer! Kanchan was invaluable in helping with our long shopping list.
We enjoyed a fantastic meal at Mocambos Restaurant, which was apparently the favourite eating place of Arijeet and still is of Father Weathrall. I attended St James’ Church on Sunday morning with Amitesh Roy who is a very active member and is hoping soon to be accepted for ordination training. The service ended with a welcome cup of sweet tea!
Later, after breakfast, we were shown the Millennium Park, sandwiched between the Ganges and the railway line. It is an attractive garden and children’s play area. We then visited the Nalban Lake complex and had an enjoyable boat ride. All too quickly our time with the Roy family came to an end and we were taken back to the Mission to be collected by Sanjib and Tanmoy.
On the way back to Sanjib’s, we had a short stop to meet Tanmoy’s parents for another wonderful welcome. We concluded our brief trip with relaxing conversation, food and hospitality courtesy of Sanjib, Seema and baby Sarah. We learnt that the word ‘Behala’ means violin and thought this particularly appropriate in relation to the Mission’s historical heritage. Through all the conversations we had during our visits, it is clear how much Old Boys still love the Mission and we all have a real hope that the Mission in Behala and elsewhere will have a bright and successful future.
Freda and Ruth Davis