India 1975

On June 19, 1975 I arrived in Calcutta from Rangoon. It was the start of the inense summer heat. (July is not the best month for visiting India!) Even though I had been traveling for months in Asia I was struck by the poverty and intense street life.

The marble of the Victoria Memorial and the great open maidan park was a reminder that the British also left their own reminders of greatness. I wrote at that time that It's possible to get quite lost in it and imagine oneself on an English country estate complete with herds of wandering sheep.
(The Queen's English had apparently degenerated as seen in the street advertisements).

Before I reached India I purchased a travel visa to travel overland to Nepal; but the summer rains hit and the roads became impassible due to mudslides. So I still have an unused travel visa!
I did see the Himalayas before I left India. I travelled through from Delhi to Chandigarh and Simla to Dharamsala and McLeod Ganj. I missed the Dalai Lama but found some other Tibetan lamas to be willing subjects for my lens.