Week Ending July 14, 2019

- July 21, 2019

Sisters' Meeting, Quilting and a wonderful few days in Kolkata

Sister Skidmore (Mesa), Jeanette, Sister Hansen (Virginia), Sister Toone (Mesa)
and all the sister missionaries in our mission - special Sisters' Meeting at which Jeanette did a presentation on service.

Sisters Watts & Muthu along with Malati Sarkar from Pitampura who is now serving in Fiji. Helping senior sisters prepare/tie 100 baby quilts for a government hospital in Rishikesh where the home group leader's wife is a OB nurse.

Angelie - Udayan Girls Home

Made posters about what they want to be when they grow up.

Our sweet Radha

KOLKATA

Anita Pyne from the Branch haggling with street vendor to buy some guava

Two girls in orphanage making a chariot for the Rath Yatra festival honoring Lord Jagaanath - see photos below

Posing with the traditional Ambassador Taxi

Rath Yatra Festival to honor Lord Jagaarnath

It consisted of a line of three or four floats pulled by people with images of Lord Jagannath, his elder brother, Balabhadra and sister, Subhadra.

Treats for blessings from Lord Jagaarnath distributed from floats.

Floats were traditionally moved by the people pulling two large ropes.

Devotees celebratory dance.

Walking Tour Through Gray-town. The Europeans lived on one side (White Town") and the locals on the other ("Black Town") and settlers from outside India settled in the middle ("Gray Town") - melting pot receiving Chinese, Jewish, Armenian, Portuguese, Danish and other foreign traders who were attracted to the city which by 1850 already numbered around 1 million inhabitants. Kolkata was said to be second only to London in rank within the Empire.

Hand-powered rickshaw still used in the old part of Kolkata.

Barracks built for U.S. Troops in WWII but they refused to live there, instead holding up in a luxury hotel nearby. Then and still today inhabited by a mostly Indo-Anglo population.

Chai (tea) stall in Gray Town.

Rickshaw puller at work.

Within a very short distance we visited the Bauddha Dharmankur Sabha, a Buddhist hostel, community and educational center; Bow Street, a row of neat barracks built for the US military during WWII (seee above) but, having been declined by them, given as housing to Kolkata’s Anglo-Indian community; a Zoroastrian (Parsi) Temple; Carey Baptist Church, founded in 1809; Ho Chi Minh Market and Chinese shrine and community center; and finally the gorgeous Magen David or Shield of David Synagogue (below) built by Baghdadi Jews who came to Kolkata to trade. The community once numbered 5,000 but now there are only 20 ranging in age from 50 to 90. We didn’t even bother with the Hindu temples or Muslim Mosques which are ubiquitous.

Carey Baptist Church

Street scene with rickshaw.

Ho Chi Minh Market and Chinese shrine and community center-chess game.

Street scene - rickshaw and dog.

Beautiful street vegetable market.

Wood re-cyclers take any and all pieces of wood, pull out any nails or bolts and re-cycle.

Magen David or Shield of David Synagogue (below) built by Baghdadi Jews

ca. 1884

We tried to find the location of the first LDS Church building in Asia which was built in Kolkata in 1851/52. We had the street address but, of course, things have changed in a 165+ years. But, we are confident we walked past the spot and pinpointed it to about 50 yard area. It is in the Jaan Bazar area of central Kolkata.