Defying conventions, our member Mrs K. Roy travelled all by herself as a student in the USA, back in 1985. Here she recalls a memorable trip to the Grand Canyon.
The first time I travelled to the USA, in 1985, I knew I had to visit the Niagra Falls and the Grand Canyon. In order to visit the Grand Canyon, I needed to go through Las Vegas. I was a student back then and was travelling solo. There were two options: I could either do a helicopter ride and be back in Las Vegas by the end of the day or spend a night at the Canyon. I was travelling on a tight budget but thought to myself that it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and that I should spend a night at the Canyon. That way I would be able to enjoy the sight of the sun setting and rising over the landscape.
Because I was the only one travelling solo in our group I got to sit next to the helicopter—it was the best seat! The sight of the Colorado river winding its way through the valleys is one to behold. Our helicopter tracked the course of the magnificent river which was wide in some places and narrow in others. The splendid colours of the mountain—yellow, red, magenta, purple, and white—were like nothing I’d seen before.
We spotted a summit which was shaped like a mandir, and the pre-recorded commentary informed us that it was called the Brahma Temple. There was another one called Vishnu Temple. I was intrigued by their choice of names.
We travelled all day, flying high above peaks and low, closer to the river. Around evening some of us were dropped off in a valley, near a few hotels. The rooms at the hotels were well beyond my budget, but I had no option. After a quick trip to a viewing point to see the sunset, I returned to my hotel to find that they were screening a film on the discovery of the Canyon. What luck!
Next morning we were to be taken to see the sunrise. When I walked out to the entrance, I saw tea, coffee, and biscuits kept ready on a table. I marvelled at the thoughtfulness and hospitality of the hotel staff. Once we had helped ourselves to some beverage, we were driven to the viewing point where I saw one of the most memorable sunrises of my life. On the way back I chatted with my fellow travellers who were surprised that I had travelled alone all the way from India.
In the afternoon we left the Canyon and were flown back to Las Vegas in a helicopter. It was a wonderful trip. I remember my flight above the rocky landscape and the thinning and thickening of the Colorado river like it was yesterday.

In the last century, Kolkata saw widespread change the more it embraced electricity. Our member Mr S. Ray speaks about the City of Joy, his first impressions of the city as a boy, and the sights and sounds with which we are no longer familiar.
I was born in Bihar near Dalmianagar. My father moved to Konnagar in 1955 and since then I have had a relationship with Kolkata and the Greater Kolkata area. My most abiding memory of the city in the ‘50’s and the ‘60’s is of the streets being washed early in the morning. You could hear the sloshing of water as hydrants on the side of the road started to gush water. Men with leather bags full of water would walk around the city to hose the streets down. As the day got busy, the neighbourhoods would ring out with musical calls from the ferrywallahs selling hot dalpuri (flatbread with a daal mixture) and nimki and kotkoti (savoury treats), all delights for the children. A woman peddling kansa (bronze) pots and pans would announce herself by banging a stick against one of her bronze vessels. Some of these sellers would wear a ring and clang it against the pots, using it as a percussion instrument to call out to potential buyers. Ferrywallahs are today largely a thing of the past.
Recently we saw the iconic tram of Kolkata becoming a part of history. Back in my youth the roads of Kolkata were a lot emptier, and the tram, with its slow ambling pace, looked far more majestic as it came up the road. Change, though, is inevitable with development. In the 19th century, the first trams were single-bogeyed and horse-drawn, and once the vehicles became electric-powered, the horses were taken off the tracks and more bogeys were added. Similarly, the tram has had to make way to make the transportation system more efficient. I have seen traffic control change as the city embraced electricity. In my youth, there were no traffic lights. Policemen in red turbans would orchestrate the movement of cars with their hands.
Life was indeed different before the widespread use of electricity. I remember we would study for our exams by the light of hurricane lamps. In the late ‘50’s, some parts of the city gas would still be illuminated by gas lamps. As evening fell, lamplighters from the gas company would go around lighting the lamps with long poles with wicks at one end. As darkness descended on the city and shadows came alive, the sounds would go quieter, and we would prepare for rest and look forward to another day.
I look back at those early days fondly, but I also embrace the changes that have come into our lives because of technological developments.
(𝘈𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘌𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳)