The weather had cleared up and the sun was out so we decided to visit the Old Alipore Jail which has been turned into a museum. We left mid morning and the drive took us through the city and the level of pollution and haze was quite stifling. After a couple of days of respite, presumably due to the rains, the smog gave the city an eerie feel. As we drove over the EM Bypass the view into the distance almost seemed dystopian.

I realised that I hadn’t been to this part of town in over 10 years and the various fly overs have really changed the landscape. I was looking forward to a slow, agonising drive along Circus Avenue, however we sped along 20 mts above the road in a new bypass that took us all the way from Science City through to Rabindra Sadan in just 15 minutes. It took us a little bit longer to get to the entrance of the Alipore Museum.

The Museum in itself was fantastic. It is the main jail that housed political prisoners during the British Raj and was actively used till about 30 years ago. It has been well maintained with lots of information plaques and commemorative statues all around. We visited the gallows where some famous freedom fighters had been hung. Emily found this quite macabre and combined with the sound effects as well as the sterile nature of the autopsy room, she felt uncomfortable. We also got to see the actual cells where Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Jawaharlal Nehru had been imprisoned. They also had a large hall set up like a “Day in the Life” of prisoners which was quite insightful. We easily spent a few hours at the museum and could have spent a couple more.

Earlier today Bron and Ben started their journey from Canberra. They started their drive to Sydney even before the crack of dawn and then flew out to New Delhi. Ben had a work Christmas party the night before and was a bit worse for wear and promptly fell asleep on the flight. After connecting in New Delhi they arrived in Kolkata near midnight. It was almost 24 hours door-to-door for them.