Shantiniketan
After another exciting week during which I had a Bengali cookery class - not going to lie, the best part was eating it afterwards, my first Hindi lesson and days spent writing up reviews of events at the newspaper office, where everyone is very young, modern and friendly, the city madness was starting to take its toll on my energy. However, Lizzie, who is a miraculous fountain of knowledge, seemed to have thought ahead and organised a two-day trip to Shantiniketan - (translates to abode of peace) for Celia, Lizzie, her friend Kara from home, and myself. The town and university here were basically set up by the noble prize winner Rabindranath Tagore and so, steeped in history it was as interesting as it was beautiful. On our first day it was rainy, but this was great as it meant less people and gave the countryside a mystical air. We had wonderful rickety rides on cycle rickshaws - although going uphill i felt very sorry for the wallah and wanted to get out and help. The entire weekend was wonderfully tranquil and I bought some brilliant presents from a market in the middle of a forest, which was a fairytale sight.