About Calcutta

Southland Times, Issue 21997, 22 April 1933, Page 18

About Calcutta

The following extracts form part of a very interesting letter Cousin Zoe Smith received recently from a friend in Calcutta:— “We have a very big Zoo in Calcutta, and we also have polar bears; but in the summer they have to get huge blocks of ice, and even those are not cool enough for them. One or two generally die every summer. This year there are two penguins, but I haven’t seen them.” “The other day we motored to the Botanical Gardens, and I didn’t enjoy the drive because the roads were terrible. I saw the famous Banyan tree. Have you heard of it? Well—it is the largest and oldest in the world. I left my camera in one of the picnic houses, and by amazing good luck, found it again. It is very difficult to recover one’s lost property in India, because the natives are awful thieves—in fact, they even have a market where they dispose of stolen goods, called ‘Choi Harb,’ meaning ‘Thieves’ Market.’ Last Sunday I also motored to a place called Bandel, which has quite a history. There is a church which was built in 1599, and it has a miraculous statue of the Blessed Virgin. In the compound there is the mast of a ship which foundered in the river, and thousands of people visit the place. To arrive at Bandel, people usually motor, and the road is lovely. It is called the Grand Trunk Road, and it runs to the North of India, a distance of some thousands of miles.”