THE SCRATCH® MUSIC OF THE GANGES DECEMBER 29 2020-JANUARY 7 2021 You are invited to join Tony and Annie Hastings and our guest lecturer Manvinder Rattan on a unique voyage - a musical journey on the holiest river in India and its tributaries, the Hooghly and Bhagirathi rivers. THE BOAT RV Bengal Ganga is a classic river boat in the grand style, family owned and managed. Although it was only built in 1979, its teak, mahogany, brass and rattan fittings give it an elegant, old-fashioned sense of style, which is complemented by its friendly and attentive crew. The cabins are all twin-bedded, and have en-suite facilities. All cabins are air-conditioned. A typical cabin En-suite bathroom The saloon The upper deck THE MUSIC We are very lucky to have with us Manvinder Rattan, a distinguished conductor and choral trainer who has family roots in the Punjab, but is based in the UK. He was our guest conductor on the Scratch® Rendezvous with Rajasthan in 2015. He will be giving us, through a series of short lectures and interactive vocal workshops, a gentle introduction to Indian music, which will then be illustrated at various points in the voyage by local performers who will be invited on board. I’ll let him speak for himself: From the courtly elegance of Mogul ragas, to the sensuous tones of the Carnatic tradition, via the impassioned ecstasy of Sufi Qawwal, to the earthy tones of Bengali folk music, India's music reflects its almost immeasurable diversity. On this trip, I will endeavour to be a bridge between our western culture and its musical heritage and that of some of India's. We'll talk about the cultural setting of each musical idiom, why does it exist, how has it flourished, how does it survive now, what does it reflect, what does it serve, what is played and sung and how, and, perhaps most importantly of all, allow it to touch our souls. THE VOYAGE Tuesday December 29 ON BOARD Arrive in Kolkata after midday and transfer to the jetty to board the RV Bengal Ganga. Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, is the capital of India's West Bengal state. Founded as an East India Company trading post, it was India's capital under the British Raj from 1773-1911. Today it’s known for its grand colonial architecture, art galleries and cultural festivals. 18h00 Welcome, safety briefing, introductions 19h00 Dinner 20h30 Bengali classical dance performance on board (Gaudiya Nritya Bharati, given by Dr. Mahua Mukherjee). Wednesday December 30 ON BOARD 07h00 – 08h00 Breakfast 08h15 Depart for orientation tour of Kolkata by coach, which will take us to Dalhousie Square that houses several colonial heritage monuments such as the Writer’s Building, General Post Office, High Court, Raj Bhawan (Governor’s Palace), Town Hall, Council House, Treasury Building and the Reserve Bank of India. We then visit St. John’s Church and the Victoria Memorial for a photo stop and walk in the gardens. St. John’s Church, originally a cathedral, was among the first public buildings erected by the East India Company after Kolkata became the effective capital of British India. It was modelled on St. Martin-in-the- Fields in London. The Victoria Memorial is a grand marble building built between 1906 and 1921 in memory of Queen Victoria. 11h30 Return to the ship to start our upstream journey cruising through the areas where the different European settlers established their respective East India Companies. 12h30 Lunch 18h00 Next day’s briefing in the Saloon Bar 19h00 Dinner 20h30 A talk on Kalna’s Tantric temples, given by our guide Sumit Battacharyya. Overnight moored in Kalna Thursday December 31 ON BOARD 06h00 Tea and coffee served on the sundeck 06h30 Yoga session on the sundeck 07h00 – 08h00 Breakfast Post breakfast visit to Kalna – we’ll take rickshaws to visit the enchanting Rajbari temple complex, which contains a unique mixture of Bengal’s temple architecture. On one side of the road lie the Nabakailas Temples. Built in 1809 by the Bardhaman Maharaja, the complex contains 108 'aat-chala' or “eight slope-roofed” Shiva temples arranged in two concentric circles. The outer circle consists of 74 temples of alternate black and white lingams; while the 34 temples of the inner circle have only white lingams. On the other side of the road lies a walled complex, containing the most diversified form of Bengal’s temple architecture. The Pratapeshwar Temple, built in 1849 contains terra cotta plaques depicting themes of Hindu epics, mythical life of Sree Chaitanya, images of Durga and various aspects of day-to-day life. The other temples are the Lalji temple built in 1739; the oldest in the complex, Krishnachandra temple built in 1751 is similar to the Lalji temple. The complex also houses a flat roofed temple to Giri Govardhan. 11h00 Return to the ship and continue to sail towards Matiari, a shore-side village. 12h30 Lunch 18h00 Next day’s briefing in the Saloon Bar 19h00 Dinner 20h30 Evening performance of Baol music by local artists of the region. Baol music is sung by wandering minstrels who perform with a one stringed Ektara. The songs reflect the Tantric, Sufi and Vaishnav orientation of their mysticism. Overnight moored in Matiari Friday January 1 ON BOARD 06h00 Tea and coffee served on the sundeck 06h30 Yoga session on the sundeck 07h00 – 08h00 Breakfast 08h15 Post breakfast excursion to the village of Matiari, which is known for the manufacture of handcrafted brass and copper items utilizing traditional methods. The unique character of the area is evident as we start walking towards the village, hearing the sound of metal beating coming from all the houses. We’ll stroll in the village and visit some homes to see and experience the different brass working processes. 10h30 Return to the ship, and cruise towards Khushbagh, a charming shore-side village. 12h30 Lunch 18h00 Next day’s briefing in the Saloon Bar 19h00 Dinner Overnight moored at Khushbagh Saturday January 2 ON BOARD 06h00 Tea and coffee served on the sundeck 06h45 We visit the charming village of Khushbagh, walking through fields and visiting the well preserved mosque complex built by Nawab Ali Wardi Khan, housing his family’s private mosque and tombs. His grandson Siraj-ud-daulah was defeated by the British East India Company at the famous Battle of Plassey in 1757. 08h15 – 09h15 Breakfast 09h30 Excursion to Baranagar as well as nearby Azimganj, which have many temples and heritage merchants’ houses. In the mid-17th century, the royal family of Natore (now in Bangladesh) built a riverside palace in a village and called it Baranagar (meaning big town). Walk through the village and visit the Char Bangla Temple complex, which was built by the famous Queen of Natore, Rani Bhavani during 1714-1793. The word “Char” means four and the complex is a quadrilateral configuration of four temples. Scenes from the Hindu epics are depicted on the walls of the temple in terracotta. We will also visit the nearby Jain Temples in Azimganj and enjoy a Jain lunch in a fascinating heritage mansion, which has undergone a major restoration by its owners. 14h00 Return to the ship and sail downstream to Murshidabad, a hidden architectural gem with dramatic whitewashed colonial era structures that warmly greet you to this historic city. 15h30 Ride on local tongas (horse carts) to visit the Katra Mosque built by the first Nawab of Murshidabad, Nawab Murshid Quli Khan in the year 1724-25. Ride the tongas back to the ship. 18h00 Next day’s briefing in the Saloon Bar 19h00 Dinner Evening performance of Qawwali, a form of Sufi devotional music popular in the Punjab and Sindh regions of Pakistan, parts of north India including Hyderabad and Delhi, and parts of Bangladesh. It is part of a musical tradition that stretches back more than 700 years. Sunday January 3 ON BOARD 06h00 Tea and coffee served on the sundeck 06h30 Yoga session on the sundeck 07h00 – 08h00 Breakfast 09h30 After breakfast we walk to visit the Hazarduari Palace Museum. Built during the reign of Nawab Nazim Humayun Jah (1824-1838 AD) by an English architect, Duncan McLeod, following the Greek “Doric” style. The palace has more than a thousand real and false doors in the vast corridors. Inside the palace museum one can observe a wide collection of antiquities including various kinds of weapons, oil paintings by Dutch, French and Italian artists, marble, porcelain & stucco statues, as well as manuscripts and palanquins mostly belonging to the 18th and 19th centuries. Opposite the Palace is the vast Imambara, open only during religious ceremonies. 11h00 We walk back to the ship 12h30 Lunch 18h00 Next day’s briefing in the Saloon Bar 19h00 Dinner 20h30 Lecture by Sumit Battacharyya on the history, religious significance and wildlife of the “Mother Ganges”. Overnight anchored near Kalna Monday January 4 ON BOARD 06h00 Tea and coffee served on the sundeck 06h30 Yoga session on the sundeck 07h00 – 08h00 Breakfast 10h30 Cooking demonstration by our Chef 12h30 Lunch 15h00 Excursion to Bandel, a trading port founded by Portuguese settlers in 1579. It was later occupied by the Dutch and was used as a base for the Dutch intra-Asian opium trade. The Dutch were routed in 1759 by the British who occupied it until India’s independence. This region played an important role in the Bengal Renaissance and the Indian Independence Movement. We’ll also visit the shore side Hooghly Imambara at Bandel, one of the famous Shiya pilgrimage centres in West Bengal built in 1841 by Haji Mohannad Mahasin.