After a restful morning I had a series of press and television interviews from 3pm to about 5.30pm, that included me being asked to walk along the pavement outside the bank using my white stick, with a vast array of photographers and TV cameramen moving ahead in front of me, with others hopping along bunny style below me, trying for those looking up shots, capturing the Kolkata skyline behind me, with both the onlooking pedestrians and myself wondering exactly what it was all about!
I also drank a delicious tiny earthenware cup of chi, that sweet, milky tea flavoured with (I think) saffron and other spices on the pavement whilst being photographed.
The locals simply throw these earthenware cups away afterwards, but I kept mine as a souvenir of my time here!
Richard finally joined me in the hotel before our dinner engagement, having been delayed at the airport for not carrying a passport. This had been sent to Delhi with Jon to get an essential Bangladeshi visa stamp in it, being returned today.
Richard thought a passport was not needed for a domestic flight, but somehow, whilst the authorities agreed, they said HE was a foreigner, flying a foreign registered aircraft, and decided this was different! Lots of dialogue and bank intervention got him out!
Our dinner tonight was with some 100 guests, mostly clients from the bank, that included three eye surgeons who came along especially due to the sight restoration goal for the flight.
After my presentation I was told that they practised at one of the world's largest eye hospitals in the world, with some individual surgeons undertaking some 100 cataract operations DAILY, with no charge to the poor
patients- so inspiring to hear of it!
The three eye surgeons in the accompanying photo are; Dr Salil Gupta, Dr Tony and Dr Samar.
We met so many inspiring, dedicated people at this fund-raising dinner here tonight, and trust it will result in lots of happy children and their parents, living sighted lives once again!
Before I spoke this evening we had the pleasure of listening to a blind guitarist called Guy, cousin f one of the bank's employees, and I recorded his version of "Yellow River" for you to listen to, on his great Fender electric guitar!
After a great Indian style dinner, when saying cheerio to some of the bank employees, I gave one man a warm hug, telling him to dream big in his life, and, when I come back, I wanted to se him as the manager of one of the big bank branches in Kolkata! "What do you mean" he replied, "I AM one of the managers!"
Richard and I went to bed tonight knowing tomorrow is our first rest day of the flight after some 23 days- what a joy after a great day, being surrounded once again by wonderful hospitality from the bank and the great people of India!