The Omaha guide., 1945-07-07
REST LEAVE IN CALCUTTA

SdiCutld, Cue mo populated CITY
in India, was my objective. The city
which contains temples and build
ings that are older than our great
country. Excited, you bet 1 was; it
was a place where | could buy ice
cream and roast beef sandwiches.
No, it wasn't just getting away from
retreat and inspections, but as long
as | couldn't go home, / felt this was
the next best. The continued rains
and the burning sun had left me a
little on edge. l needed a rest.
| slept the first night in camp. |
was dead tired from that uncomfort-
able ride on the train. | awoke early
the next morning with soft soothing
music playing on the radio. Yes, this
way my true character. AS usu
hey made me lazy and uncomforl
BE, but so satisfied.
The first place | stopped at in tn
ity was the American Red eros
They called it The Cosmos Club.
It was nicely furnished; soft chair
was truly a place of rest, relaxation
and peace of mind. No hurry, tax
your time, soldier, get yourself
shave and a haircut, take a good re
freshing shower, have your khaki
pressed, shine those shoes; no hurry
take your time, these days belong tc
yourself.
l took my time; strolled about the
camp area getting the feel of this
peaceful place. | didn't know what to
expect, but | had rupees to toss away
and | am the fellow who can toss
them. In my mind l had conceived
all kinds Of things | was going to do,
but my visit to the PIX quelled all
that. l devoured SO many cokes and
writing tables, ping-pong tables,
ping pong tables, games Of all kinds,
and a tennis court for those who
wished to play. The club was under
the direction of a very kind and con-
siderate gentleman, who was assisted
by another mar and four
Many Anglo-Indians of both sexes
were employed there. You could buy
ice cream, sandwiches of all kinds,
and meals during the serving hour.
Tours, Of the important historical
sights, were conducted daily. 1t
would take a complete book to de-
scribe the many places Of interest
that | was fortunate enough to see.
One place of interest that has stayed
with me till this day was the day l
visited the Burning Chats.
1t was my third day in Calcutta
and a slow DRILLING rain that seemed
to float down from the low-lazy drift
ing clouds, made the event more
appalling. I had expected to smell
the odor of burning flesh, but there
was no odor at all. Pits in the earth,
with wood as the fire base, was the
crude way in which they destroyed
the bodies. Several pits were being
used for that purpose the day l was
there. Numerous bodies were lying
on charpoys waiting their turn for
destruction. Indians attending the
cremation were poking the fire con-
tinually until the body was COM
pletely destroyed.
Indian women do not accompany
the remains to the funeral pyre. The
men sit around the burning body
quietly and without much
ton; their main job, keeping the
wood burning until the fire consumed
the body. In death, | guess it doesn't
matter very much which way the
body is destroyed, but to me this
seemed old fashioned and certainly
not a very pretty sight.
| attended one of the weekly
dances given BY the Y. M. Q. A. Most
of the dances are tag, and no n
may refuse the dance of the one who
in turn tags the other. 1t was some
gathering | must say. American sol
diers, both black and white, British
soldiers, Indian soldiers, Indian Wacs,
Women from West Africa, Indian
women, Anglo-Indian women, British
women, and probably some nation
alitieS | did not know. Most of them
speak English, but l was surprised
to see that most Of them jitter-bug
and really enjoy dancing that way.
AS | am no jitter-bug, l was quite a
wall-flower that evening. 1t was
worth the trip to Calcutta just to see
this group enjoying the company Of
each other. l finally succeeded in
getting a dance with one of the la
dies from West Africa. Between a
British soldier and | she was quite
exhausted at the end Of the set.
Strange place, Calcutta.
The traffic in Calcutta moved very
slowly. There were more men pulling
loads on a two-wheeled cart, than
trucks. 1t is hard to get a ride on a
street car because of the crowded
condition. Street cars contained Sepa-
rate seats for the ladies. | used this
sort of transportation very seldom.
The Indians seemed quite friendly
and would go out of their way to
make you comfortable.
Calcutta is no dream city. 1t has
too much class for me. I will admit
it contains historical sights of splen-