I still have a ways to go. My trek along several of Punchanogram's principal thoroughfares on the east side of the city continues. It's a good no-nonsense route, all-new territory to me, and totally worthwhile. My friend Somnath Ghosh, an accomplished fellow seeker of Things Calcuttan, has informed me that, contrary to my assumption, there are indeed sites of considerable age and veneration peppered here and there in this tract of 55 villages. Among them, he mentions the Jora Mandir of the Naskar family, and a very old masjid near Rashmoni Bazar. As this walk is fairly superficial, notes for return visits are always made a priority. Having faced the finality of the small Portuguese cemetery from 1810 and the Tower of Silence on Beleghata Road, time to return to the land of the living, at least for a while. It's true that cemeteries figure prominently in this perambulation, yet everything in between has that Calcuttan 'zing' to it, albeit in a lower key. As a landmark to aim for, I choose Gurudas College, unto which a cop directs me 'with great pleasure'.

Heading north, the Calcutta Improvement Trust blazed a new road, in the bold Chittaranjan style, a diagonal straightaway 30 metres wide, to link up with the next east / west arterial, Narkeldanga Road. It was finally commemorated in 1961 – the Name Game having been delayed for some reason – for famous local son Hem Chandra Naskar (a much-respected official and member of the Jora Mandir Naskars). Curiously, this significant civic fixture can still be identified with the generic 'C.I.T. Road' label on various current maps. The shade trees, the modern but not really new apartment blocks, and the lowkey commercial offerings quite remind me of suburban streets on the peripheries of medium sized towns in Spain or southern France. An alternative Calcutta certainly, though pretty unpretentious and definitely not elitist. I'd simply call it middle ground between the core city and Bidhan Nagar.

Some time ago, the Narkeldanga neighbourhood enjoyed a blissful period of quietude from traffic (though not from pile-drivers), as the cut-andcover progress of the Metro crawled towards Salt Lake. This state persists in the pleasant campus of Gurudas College (easily found), and is especially profound in the Jewish Cemetery, just at hand. The ambience of this enclave differs dramatically from the city's other

graveyards. It is crowded but orderly and the smoothly elongated style of the graves seems more like a city of catafalques rather than tombs. Their uniformity is solidly egalitarian.

Shalom the proprietor is young, dedicated, and a scholar. His knowledge of the cemetery and its occupants is exceptional. Most importantly, he is passionate about its preservation and care. He tells me there are no more than twenty-five members of the old families still in Calcutta, and that every monsoon, most of the yard is flooded. The problem is worsening, and the catchment tank at the lower end has been inadequate for years.

He assures me though, that he has only begun to put in his efforts in the realms of preservation and improvement. There is finer heritage of finality down the street to the west. In the compact but richly-ornamented Greek Cemetery, its epitaphs proclaim themselves on marble parchments, spread before us. A tablet in the natty chapel commemorates one who is known to me, Demetrius Panioty, onetime secretary to the Viceroy, whose name graces the chhatri'd fountain of Jaipur marble at the corner of Esplanade Row East and Old Court House St. 'A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches' is inscribed there, indicating the late Panioty's integrity. His son, Dr. John Emmanuel, was a distinguished surgeon and Public Vaccinator of Calcutta. There are Armenians who repose here as well. One more Abrahamic final resting place lies to the north, the great Bagmari Makbari-i-Am, to be saved for another time. Respects paid, lively and entertaining diversions await, just to the east. I call them the Narkeldanga Murals.

A very talented artist – or a brigade of them – has painted a series of wonderful scenes, custom-fitted to the wall niches along here, featuring cartoonish characters from what might be parables or fables. I love this fun surprise, as do those who notice, and I hope it's not just a temporary show. There's another arcane feature on my map, out near the Bypass: a 'Dr. Bose's Laboratory'. Highly intriguing, but for me it's onward to Kankurgachi now, though that's another story, already told.

Stay curious, have fun, and be sure to come when Calcutta calls!