A night in a nondescript guesthouse at Karaya, a hush-hush visit to Indian Museum, a breeze through Victoria Memorial, a compassionate ear lent to the ailing at Nirmal Hriday, and finally a breath of fresh air under the Great Banyan Tree in Botanical Gardens.

Javed Musharraf?s brief stopover in the city ? en route to Varanasi ? was as low-key as it gets. By the time he boarded the Rajdhani Express from Howrah station on Wednesday evening, Calcutta had hardly woken up to the fact that it had played host to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf?s elder brother.

?The city is well-known for its cultural heritage and I liked it,? he told Metro, summing up his day?s visit minutes before the train pulled out of platform no. 9. Outside, a motley crowd, alerted by the extra attention, waved the unlikely visitor goodbye.

?I hope we are able to ensure a nice journey for him,? said R.S. Dhoharey, the ticket examiner manning the coach by which the retired Pakistani diplomat was travelling north. ?The reservation chart also showed bookings for President Musharraf?s son, Bilal, and his mother, but the two decided not to come to Calcutta.?

Javed, who arrived from Hyderabad, was determined to soak in the ?history of India and the country?s cultural riches? in the few hours that he was passing through. At Indian Museum, for instance, he toured the Gandhara, Bharhut and Gupta galleries, before spending time on the first floor amidst Indian paintings. ?It was a short stay, barely half an hour, but he took keen interest in every item he saw,? said museum director Shakti Kali Basu.

Next stop, Nirmal Hriday in Kalighat, Mother Teresa?s first home for the dying and destitute. ?He is such a down-to-earth man. He inquired in detail about the home and met both male and female patients. When I learnt of his identity, I asked him to return with his family,? said Sister Georgina.

?Phir aana, saab (Do come back),? 30-year-old Bijoy Das, an asthma patient at Nirmal Hriday, also urged Javed Musharraf.