The City of Joy

SUNDAY
Today was strictly a travel day, with a gloriously late departure from the hotel in Madurai and two flights (the first stopping in Chennai, then on to Kolkata). It was raining and a balmy 31°C (about 88°F) when we landed, and we piled into the bus to our hotel (the luxurious 1880's colonial villa-turned hotel, the Oberoi Grand).

Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, is the capital of West Bengal. Because it was the capital of British-ruled India, the city has a lot of colonial architecture and influences. For me, the most I know is that it was the home of Mother Teresa, whose Missionaries of Charity help the most disenfranchised members of society. Because of that, I always associated Kolkata with abject poverty (which I'm sure exists), but during the bus ride into town, we were surprised by the "Las Vegas" feel - with rope lights everywhere and enormous, elaborate buildings reminiscent of the huge hotels of the Vegas Strip. We'll see tomorrow if Kolkata during the day feels the same!

MONDAY
The morning was chock full of lectures, held at the US Consulate office... proudly displayed right as we walked in were portraits of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and John Kerry... funny how everyone around, including myself, gave an 'Awwww, a familiar face!" sigh when we saw them!

The lectures were excellent - the first was by Dr. Debal Deb, an environmentalist who founded the largest NGO fold rice gene bank in India (with over 1,300 varieties of rice!). He discussed how development and sustainability are fighting against each other in Eastern India, and how we need to take into account the non-use value (rather than the direct use or indirect use value) of biodiversity. He is a big proponent of the multiple cropping system, rather than the monoculture system used by mega-industrial development. Sadly, biophilia (love of life) is being replaced in the market economy by necrophilia (love of death).

Ms. Shubhra Chatterji then spoke about the need for not only access to education for the poor, but access to quality education. She is a proponent of improving the quality, and the continual assessment of schools and students doesn't do anything to improve quality unless changes are made in the system.

British influence can be seen in the
buildings all over Kolkata

The last speaker, Professor Niladri Chatterjee, gave us an introduction to Kolkata focusing on the architecture of the northern part of the city - traditionally the 'black town', where Indians lived during the colonial period. He gave us a wonderful overview of the history of Calcutta, British rule, the love of Queen Victoria, and the influence of Britain that can still be seen in many of the buildings. Interestingly, architecture sends a message... that of power, wealth, or knowledge.

After lunch, we went to SANVED, an NGO that works with victims of violence, sexual abuse, and shelter children and helps them cope by using dance-based therapy. By making dance empowering and transforming, it is used in the healing process and provides a safe place for these women to be free to be themselves. We were then taken through a 30-minute dance therapy session, and from that short experience, the power of dance was definitely felt by everyone in the group.

That night, Chris, Matt, Giancarlo, and I went to a nearby hotel restaurant for authentic Bengali food. It was Thali, as usual, and while many of the dishes looked familiar, it was definitely much spicier than any other food that we've eaten. Delicious nonetheless!

TUESDAY

At the food supplement
manufacturing plant, CINI

A long car ride took us across the city to an NGO that deals with children and mothers: Child in Need Initiative (CINI). Their focus is on improving health, nutrition, education, and protection of deprived women and children. Because the founder is a pediatrician, they seem to focus a great deal on health and nutrition, primarily prenatal and infant nutritional needs.

In the Oberoi lobby - why
yes, he IS combing the rug...!

We had a little free time in the afternoon so Mario and I went for a quick shopping excursion right outside our hotel. The Oberoi Grand is an opulent, 5-star hotel (where the staff follows you down the hall to walk you to the elevator and tries to carry all your bags, even small shopping bags). Right outside the guarded gates is a street market, with vendor stalls and merchants calling out their wares of cheap sunglasses, t-shirts, and plastic toys. It's quite the contrast, much like everything else in India.

Mohinyattam dance

Consul General Hall

That night we went to the American Center, and were greeted by the Consul General Craig Hall. We had a classical Indian dance performance by Priyadarshini Ghosh, followed by a dinner and meet-and-greet session with various professionals and academics.

I spent my time talking to a Fulbright researcher working on the history of fossil fuels in India, as well as Dr. Deb, the ecologist from the day before. He had an interesting take on the environment, and how culture, religion, and folklore form many behavioral norms (when dealing with the environment), and we've lost touch with the foundation of these stories (which is why things we used to hold sacred, we now abuse). It was a fascinating discussion, and I really want to take Dr. Deb up on his offer of visiting his rice bank and farm in Odisha (south of Bengal).

WEDNESDAY
A great day exploring Kolkata, both old and new. We spent the morning on a walking tour of the northern part of the city, the traditionally "black" part of town. More on this in a post of its own!

Squeezing 5 adults in a taxi

Following lunch, Eric, Abbey, Mark, Mario, and I decided to go tea tasting and shopping. We squeezed ourselves into a cab and rode out to the tea shop that Eric heard about. The first place had a ridiculously long line, so we walked down the street to a smaller store and did our shopping. We all bought the assam masala, then tried their darjeeling (which is supposedly what everyone in Bengal drinks). I bought a more expensive kind - supposedly a good quality, but then we stopped at the first shop and had REALLY expensive darjeeling. Of course, as tourists we were probably completely ripped off, but nonetheless we bought ourselves a small sampler for a taste test. Both stores were happy to give us a cup of their darjeeling, which was flavorful but we all thought was brewed longer than we would have liked.

Gettin' our tea on

Another squeezed ride in a taxi brought us back to the hotel just in time to meet the group for our home visit. We traveled to northern Kolkata to see a traditional Bengali family home - meaning several generations and extended family live under one roof. We were met at the door by the 92 (or maybe 96) year old grandpa, a slight, kindly man who ushered us into the house and up to the second floor (meaning up two flights). Living in the house were the two sons and their families (although one son is working in Africa). It's getting less common for Indian families to live together as extended units, so it was nice seeing the community that this family has made for itself.

The view from the rooftop terrace

THURSDAY
Our final day in Kolkata started with a visit to a local ('peri-urban') village just outside the city. SAFE, the South Asian Forum for the Environment, is working with locals to provide safe drinking water access, as well as creating a recycling project to turn former landfill paper into artisan crafts. The water initiative uses solar power to run their filtration system, and each family is given an RFID card to  access 10 L of water. If their usage goes over 300L in a month, they are charged a fee which helps with the upkeep of the system. The filtration system filters about 60% of the water into drinking water; the remaining 40% is used for their sanitation system - ie, their toilets. It's a brilliant, sustainable system that is helping all of the families (about 540) in the local area.

Anointed by the Ganges

This afternoon, 10 of us decided to visit the Kali Temple and Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity Home. We took a subway from the hotel to Kalighat, the ride being a teeming mass of sweaty bodies pressed together like sardines. And when we got to the right station, it was a mad rush trying to get out, with Mark thankfully pushing us to make sure we got out the door. The monsoon rain was just stopping as we exited the subway station, and we made our way down the road to get to the Kali Temple.

Hooray! I haven't drowned!

Halfway there, we turned down Kalighat Road and realized it was completely flooded from the monsoon - the Ganges had overflowed and river stood between us and our destination. But we'd come this far... we had to get through! So we rolled up our pant legs and braved the muck. Thankfully, I have no open wounds on my feet (I'm going to say that mosquito bites don't count)! Can I just say... slogging through two feet of water for 200 meters is quite the experience, especially knowing there is poor sewage infrastructure and questionable sanitation. What was that slimy thing that just wrapped itself around my leg?? What's that blob floating by? Best not to think about it...

Kalighat Temple, from the
cleansing pool

We finally made it to Kalighat, where one of the priests immediately came up and guided us around. Kali is Shiva's consort, who among other things is known as the destroyer. The priest actually did a great job showing us around the temple grounds, and had us say prayers and bestowed blessings. When it was time to go into the inner sanctum, we washed our hands in flavored water and brought a hibiscus flower. The instructions were clear: Enter and find Kali, look her in the eyes (she has three!), throw the flower at her, and exit. And keep your belongings close and beware of pickpockets!!

The Kali figure in Kalighat
from Wikimedia.org

The priest and his helper did a wonderful job blocking the completely chaotic masses that were inside; the walkway was narrow but still had about 4 layers of people between us and Kali, and I had to duck and weave to catch a glimpse of the Goddess. And it was quite a sight - Kali is pure black with three piercing neon red-orange eyes. It was almost physically jarring when I finally caught her eye, and my heart was pounding as I threw my flower across several rows of fighting worshippers to get it to her. Then I rushed (was pushed?) out, not much worse for wear.


After our audience with Kali, we went to the holy tree where each of us in turn recited a prayer, a string was tied around our wrist, and we were blessed with marriage, children, and happiness.

The Home for the Dying Destitute

Right outside Kalighat is the Missionaries of Charity building where Mother Teresa started her Home for the Dying Destitute in 1950. At first the building seemed closed, but Giancarlo worked his magic (uttering the words, "donation") and got us inside.

It wasn't an easy place to be in. The home is a hospital for the most poverty-stricken, neediest, sickest people in Kolkata - those with mental health issues and no families, and who are on the brink of death. Immediately upon entering, we were faced with a room full of green hospital beds,  lined up in military rows. On the far end, two people lay, barely moving.

We were basically frozen, uncomfortable and unsure of ourselves, when a nun came over to talk to us. Sister Inez is originally from Poland, and has worked in India for 4 years. Prior to coming here, she was in Iceland and England, and she says in all the places she's been, nothing compares to poverty in India. Poverty in Poland is nothing like poverty in India, she says, and Iceland? Not even close.

The home cares for people that come looking for help, or who the nuns find out on the street. They clean the most horrible wounds - she mentioned maggots - and help the forgotten (and forgetful) ones to find their families. They also arrange funeral services.

Sister Inez took us around the floor to show us what they were doing. The main ward seemed empty, but then she moved a curtain and led us to the adjoining room - a cafeteria/kitchen - where dozens of men sat silently, all wearing the same red pajama pants. Many had vacant, hopeless stares, some were in wheelchairs, and none of them spoke a word. It was a visceral punch being there, seeing those that are most in pain, and especially seeing row upon row of beds and knowing each person is sick, needy, and alone.

Difficult as it was, today was probably the most meaningful for me during my time in India. Seeing those in need, but also seeing all those who are helping those in need. India continues to amaze me.