Apr 3, 2015

Calcutta ( Kolkata ) 1945: An American Military Photograph Album - Part 8

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9

Calcutta Store 1945The Calcutta counterpart of the American railroad magazine stand. Available are canes, suitcases, soda water, shopping bags, cigarettes and a hundred other items peculiar to the Indian taste.

An Indian familyAn Indian family sweat out a train. Cooking vessels, clothes and bedding are surrounded by this group which is distinguished by the presence of one of India's wandering holy men, (at right with painted brow).

Calcutta Railway Station 1945Indians seem to be great travelers. Wartime transportation priorities have forced many wary travelers to remain in stations waiting for long periods. Because of no other means, many must set up house- keeping during the long vigil, cooking their food on the spot and sleeping on the bare floor.

Howrah Station 1945Sacred cattle and coolies push and pull great carts to the loading platform of the Howrah railroad
station in background, on of the city's two stations. Howrah is on the west bank of the river, and Sealdah,the other station, is in another section of Calcutta on the east side.

Calcutta Port 1945
GI dock workers of the Port companies created order out of chaos at Calcutta's great docks and thousands of tons of vital war supplies flowed through to china, Burma and India. The MP is on hand to see that the coolies do not pilfer from the rations they are carrying.

Source: www.library.upenn.edu