Kolkata City and World Peace Thinkers and Poets Meet 2010 The conference was initiated by a peace march through the streets of Kolkata. Next to me holding the sign is Prof. Ananthanarayanan, Director of WCPA for Asia and Leader of the Delegation from to the Provisional World Parliament from Chennai. To my left is Sarswathy Devi, prominent international lawyer from Malaysia and a leader for the Provisional World Parliament In the opening ceremonies, to my right on stage is Justice A.P. Mishra, former Supreme Court Judge in India and a leader of the Provisional World Parliament. Some of the audience at the opening ceremonies. Giving a keynote address at the opening ceremonies. In the morning, near the guest house where we stayed in Kolkata. These are the people that the World Peace Thinkers represent.  There is no peace anywhere on Earth in the face of such massive structural violence and injustice. Coming and going from the guest house, this lady was always there. Everything is done on the street by and for street people.  Here is a street barber shop.  All the above photos were taken within a block of our guest house. The International Philosophers for Peace Conference took place at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in central Kolkata.  Here are some of the colleagues who attended. E. P. Menon gives his paper at the IPPNO Conference On the dias, Dr. Chayya Rai from India (second from the left) and Dr. Patricia Murphy from the US (center) and Dr. Santi Nath Chattopadhyay (Conference organizer from Kolkata) at the podium. Justice Mishra, Dr. Chattopadhyay, and others present the Global Peacemaker Award to Dr. Patricia Murphy At a session of the Provisional World Parliament, Collin, Jordan, and Natalie (all from Binghamton, NY) each make a presentation to the Parliament Dr. Mar Peter-Raoul gives her presentation on the relation between peace and community. After the Conference ended, Dr. Almand, Dr. Murphy and myself visited one of the sites of the burning ghats along the Ganges River.   The dead are cremated here and their ashes scattered on the waters. Those who can afford it, pay for the traditional open fires.  One fires is burning down in this picture while beyond a family places their deceased on a pyre that is about to be ignited. In this outside court for cremation, there are benches.  Families are traditionally expected to remain with the pyre and deceased for three hours. In the crematorium building right next door, deceased are laid out ceremonially.  After the prescribed waiting period of mourning and prayer, they are carried into the ovens show in the next photo. These doors will soon open and the body moved into the oven by 4 to 6 men. India people, in this very crowded country, enjoying a Sunday afternoon in a park adjacent to a Kali Temple on shore of the Ganges. Later, we visited a beautiful Jain temple.  Here Dr. Eugenia Almand is photographed with a group of children who were very interested in these Western visitors. Back to India Photo Directory Back to Home Page