|
after a short flight from bkk to ccu, enough for two glasses of wine and a chat with my seat-neighbor, we arrived on sudder street in kolkata. she had pre-arraged a room with her father, who met us at the airport, and he promptly deposited me into a rickshaw and instructed the driver to take me my desired guest house.
the rickshaw seeemed to me like riding a horse, and that's something i don't like to do. it's too high off the ground, and it's lazy~making another do the work of walking for two. at one point i got out of the rickshaw and was walking with the driver (my bag was still on board). i was trying to convince him to get in and let me drive, but he just smiled at me in amusement. as you would, i suppose.
my first two nights i stayed at the capital guest house. nothing special, really, just a simple room. i now have moved to paragon guest house, which is a busy and lively place. i'm sharing a room with four others, and there's a large rooftop patio outside the room where i hope i can do yoga. the paragon is quite well-known here, it's a fun and friendly palce, both residents and staff. and, there is a hot water tap near the bathrooms on the other rooftop...that makes me very happy....
most foreigners in kolkata are here to volunteer at one of seven homes started by mother theresa for the dying and destitute. some stay a week or a few, some for months. many return, or never leave.
yesterday i met nazima, a bangladeshi-born girl adopted by swedish parents. she came to kolkata last year to volunteer, her second trip to india, and intended to stay three weeks. she stayed three months, then returned home to earn more money to come back. people from home learned of what she was doing and gave her money to provide things for the people in the homes. nazima has just arrived three days ago, and is giving herself a few days to adjust (jet lag) and rest. on monday i will join her in the homes. she has decided to work mornings at a home for disabled boys and the afternoons at a home for street children. yesterday we bought some books and games for them from the money given to her by the people in sweden. i also want to go to the home for the dying, so she will bring me there as well. there is another home for mentally disabled women, and others.
life on sudder street is bustling and colorful. many people live on the streets around here. in the morning, the streets and sidewalks are wet from the morning washings. there are pumps on the street, and people fill buckets for washing clothes and bodies. there are three-sided stalls for men to urinate along the streets, although i've yet to determine where the women go. given the cultural norms, i would expect it's off the busy street somewhere.
people are very friendly. many people~shopkeeps, motel workers, other volunteers, and street people resognize nazima from last year and greet her warmly. people smile and say hello, especially the rickshaw drivers (and men in general) and some are quite humorous.
pollution here is very bad right now. the normal rate is 200 something-somethings, and it is now between 340 & 400 something-somethings around the city. not sure why that is, but it's really dirty. makes seoul air look like colorado.
the water of kolkata is said to be from an underground source, although still not safe for drnking. i suspect this is due to old piping, as was the case in dominican republic when we were there some years ago.
there are small cafes with nice indian food for 20-50 rupees, about $0.50-$1.00 usd, or you can eat on the street, which is quite nice. yesterday nazima and i had palak paneer (spinach and potato curry with rice, one of my favorites) and pakora (deep friend potato thingys) for 12 rupees (about $0.25 usd). fork not included, which is quite fun. this man had a little bench where we sat and rested our plates on plastic barrels against the external wall of a building.
we went to the new market last night, and each bought a salvar chamise, a contemporary indian dress for women. it is a long shirt, below the knees, and loose pants underneath, with a scarf. it is considered impolite here for women to expose their shoulders or knees, so salvar chamise is a nice, easy option. these two were bargains, at 150 rupees each (about $3 usd).
also in the market, we met a nice man in the spice lane. i was homesick for my own past kitchens as i perused the jars and bags of fresh spices. this man, muhammad samid, invited us for tea. so we sat in his stall and had a bit of chai and a really deadly cigarette. i was dizzy when i stood up twenty minutes later. this man was quite knowledgeable. he challenged us to ask him the name of any currency or the exchange rate with the rupee. of course, we could only do this for a few countries, but he got them all right. he told us his shop was family-owned and operated, and introduced us to his brother-in-law and son, whose seats we stole upon arrival. he said he is certain that extending hospitality and kindness to others is the key to happy, loving lives for us all.
today we had breakfast with some men from a nigerian football (real football, not american) team. nazima met them last year when she was here. the girl knows everybody.
and i must buy a pen today, and exchange my book. not the time to be reading about the gold rush of the american west. i will stay here 7-10 days, i think, and move on to orissa. rosa suggested a town in orissa she thinks i will quite like. in my mind are ideas for the south, ashrams, vipassana retreats, and trekking. also in my mind is the tsunami disaster, and when and where to help. i know this relief effort will take many months at least, and know too that it is some time after-the-fact that volunteers are really needed, when it is no longer fresh in people's minds. i am confident that when it is time for me to go to the relief effort, here or in indo with keith (he's introduced in the blog below), i will know. just how it works out in my life.
okay, then, here's some light reading for you..and there is another blog i posted just before this that is a bit more serious and important than these simple musings. please read it with consideration.
oh...yesterday i walked into an office and asked, "is this hotel reception?" inside the office were two men seated purposefully behind their neighboring desks. their hands were folded on the desks while stacks of papers and materials loomed overhead. one responded confidently, "reception is upstairs. we sell chocolate." i nodded and said, "that is very good information." naturally, i wasn't joking.
peace and love~
karin
|
