Cyrus and Gulnar's apartment provided us with a comfortable night following on from the long evening social. I was first to rise but Cyrus joined me when the door bell rang - a good thing as I couldn't work out all the door locks. The following 30 minutes included several deliveries (fruit, cakes, green coconuts, newspapers) and the maid arrived to clear up from the night before. Two breakfasts included samples of all, including a read of the two English language papers.
We had few plans before meeting up with Cyrus' sister at the Tollygunge Club for lunch, but comfortably filled the morning eating, chatting and sorting a few better clothes out from the bag we'd left here while on our travels east.
There is a swimming pool on this compound but only filled for five months of the year; Gulnar painted a lovely picture of mums of young children (including her few decades earlier) using the empty pool as a playpen!
Cyrus had warned me I'd need to wear trousers in the Tollygunge. It's one of the most prestigious clubs in Kolkata, a city with plenty of them as remnants from British days and now thriving due to the rise in India's middle classes. It also houses one of the oldest golf courses outwith Scotland. Another is the Royal Calcutta Golf Club very close by (they used to be the same club, but split). It's staggering to think of the value of the land in the heart of the city devoted to private clubs.
Numerous bar and restaurant areas, inside and out, have impeccable service.
The golf course is not cheap by Orkney standards, but compared to top European and US clubs is a steal. Caddie is compulsory. Watching from our 19th hole position reassured me that it was just the same as the courses I might frequent, with player standards from duffer to demon, but the standard of dress was much more dapper than Kirkwall or Stromness.
Egrets storked (sorry!) the course and bars.
Some of the terraces and sitting areas. It was really to hot to be out in the sun for long, and many of the golfers carried umbrellas (or their caddies did).
Cyrus' sister is the member here and was hosting us. Food was very tasty but more western than we've become used to. The signature starter is prawn cocktail and side dish garlic bread.
I'd mentioned wanting to buy some harem pants for a friend (of course, I didn't know the phrase "harem pants", but that was the interpretation of my description) which triggered multiple WhatsApp messages and discussion. At length it was decided we all needed to go to a modern shopping mall to a specific shop. After lunch we set off - two cars, six people (including one professional driver) and found ourselves in Go Colors where I was led to a reasonable substitute.
My sort of shop!
There is, apparently, a genuine Parsee name of Sodabottlewalla, a man who became wealthy in the bottle and bottling industry. This chain café bar may be stretching the reality for marketing effect. But maybe it's real!
Feeling old in the noisy and burger-filled food hall
Back at the apartment we enjoyed eating again - mishti dai, the sweet yoghurt. When Cyrus' sister left we all headed for naps; however there is a really loud pre-holi party by on right outside and I think only I actually slept!
This time tomorrow we should be taking off for home.
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