Maidan

Two or three times a week all the boarders at the school go to the large field known as the Maidan to play sport. The Maidan was originally created by the British (typically, by flattening a village) to be a parade ground. It is now a huge public park where dozens of sports teams come to practice. Known as "the lungs of Kolkata", it is an refuge in the middle of one of the noisiest and busiest and dirtiest cities in the world.

I have also heard it described as Kolkata's answer to Hyde Park, which is very misleading. The ground is uneven and the grass is often thick. Hockey balls get lost and girls swipe at them in desperation like farmers swinging scythes. Warm up jogs are interrupted by finding yourself shin deep in mud. What makes up for this is training in sight of the Victoria Memorial.

The best thing about going there is the bus journey. Think of 60 Indian kids crammed into in a 30 seated bus. Add loud Hindi music that they sing along to. Don't forget that you are driving through central Kolkata - rickshaws, prostitutes, taxis, cows. Then imagine that on the way back, all the kids muddy and sweaty, jumping off at various points. On Saturday I hung out the side door on the way back. Everyone on the street was staring at me - a white man hanging out of a bus full of singing children seems to be odd even by Kolkatas standards. It was awesome.

Pictures below. I'm going to the mangrove swamp on Tuesday, hoping to see a tiger. Back Thursday.