A wise friend, as I fretted about the steep rise in the cost of items since visiting a year ago (Indian inflation sets new records each quarter & closing near 10%) astutely surmised that some things would be more than I thought I'd spend, some things would be less. I thought of him tonight as my kind landlord & two sisters, who traveled in to meet me, help me settle, took me to the nearest grocery store, Spencer's - a long time Kolkatan mainstay since 1836! It feels so good to know I'll be able to cook fresh food tomorrow, know what I'm eating, no matter how much I love Indian cuisine... here's what 2749 INR, or $57.91 USD buys at the local Spencer's Grocer:
1 straw broom for the daily maid to sweep the house before she washes the marble floors by hand...more on the maid later...I've been tisk-tisked about not wanting one..."It's what is done here" & "there's more pollution so keeping a house nice is much different than America"...
Steam iron for clothes - this was a big chunk of my total, with the iron priced @ 895 INR...without it my total would've been $42.14 USD
cutting board
dishwashing soap
12 rolls of toilet paper
large box of laundry soap
2 kg dried garbonzo beans
1 kg black beans
1 kg navy beans
2 cartons plain yogurt
1 kg butter
marsala spices
black peppercorn
1 kg salt
a loaf of brown bread - a true gift! Most eat a heavier version of Wonder bread...a famous tea house, Flurry's, proper British during Colonial times & tourist spot now, has a deli type glass counter @ the market with fresh bread daily!
okra
tomatoes
carrots
watermelon
bananas
onions
mushrooms
two liters of fruit juice, orange & litchi twist!
small jar of Sanka (the search for whole coffee beans continues...)
large bag of tea
Milk, in half liter bags, is delivered daily, every other day or weekly to my door, with tallies made with each delivery on a card we both sign, billed on the last day of each month. Newspapers are also brought to the flat, though I postponed it until we figure out if I'll have a TV. (There are several English newspapers in Kol...my friends have explained that it's difficult to get an unbiased opinion of events by only reading one...we laughed that it's just like in the US)
All in all a good first day!
21 September, 2011
Sept. 15 - Platitudes! & Placards!
It's impossible to ignore the public interjections and exclamations as you zip by - both Delhi & Kolkata have "Post No Bills" stenciled prominently on public buildings, which, surprising, seems to be followed & respected. (You'd think they would want to plaster their names & networks whenever possible to help them stand out in such tight quarters.) The state, though, must be immune to such requirements, so a taxi ride anywhere gives a visitor a short primer on the most demanding issues of the day:
"Plant a tree this monsoon!"
"Say no to plastic bags - carry jute or cloth"
"Use power wisely - it costs" (Could be quite a revealing statement, considering the current public examination of corruption...I believe it was meant to be part of a Go Green Delhi campaign.)
"Work in Place for a Better Tomorrow" (painted across an empty work zone of an overpass being erected through downtown Kolkata)
"Plant a tree this monsoon!"
"Say no to plastic bags - carry jute or cloth"
"Use power wisely - it costs" (Could be quite a revealing statement, considering the current public examination of corruption...I believe it was meant to be part of a Go Green Delhi campaign.)
"Work in Place for a Better Tomorrow" (painted across an empty work zone of an overpass being erected through downtown Kolkata)
Sept 15 - Time to settle
Crickets & katydids & slow Bengali songs floating from a fuzzy radio are new Kolkata sounds tonight as I look out my second story window & settle into my flat 5 km from downtown...a world away.
14 September, 2011
Sept. 13, 2011- Theater of Tagore
My mid-afternoon was a true joy as a guest of the Calcutta International School drama department as they preformed their play inspired by a work of Rabindranth Tagore, the first Indian to be awarded a Nobel Prize for literature & the most beloved West Bengali sage from pre-Independance days, whose 150th birthday celebration has been a year long observance countrywide. The contest, the All India Inter School Drama Festival 2011, sponsored by the British Council and presented by the University of London theater department, is a nationwide search for the best secondary play, with 48 schools from around the country flying in to complete. The plays are in immaculate English...so incredibly impressive for 9th-12th graders.
The West Bengali welcoming spirit continues for someone who is so obviously a stranger. I was ushered into the theater without a formal pass, introduced to the coordinator since my friends had not yet arrived from the International school...he was a delightful young many who had performed to a second place finish last year - he stopped by during the performance to be sure that the diction was precise enough, & accent not too deep, to see if I was understanding the Tagore connections..it was very sweet. Then two young men from Mumbai engaged me in a conversation about why I was visiting & later a group of students, from the Ganga International School, along with their teacher, gave me a gift they brought to share with the one person they felt would most appreciate it, filled with writings by each student, along with a copy of their newsletter & an invitation to spend the day at their school when I am back Delhi; the teacher said, after asking my birth date, that she was a water source, too, as a Scorpion, & that both she & the girls had sensed I was someone for whom the number three would be relevant & three was their school's lucky number...they just gave the small head sideways nod of affirmation common in Indian body language, smiling, not at all surprised, when I said three had always been my favorite number. Such is the kind of meetings you have in India!
Mumbai play - they used only students for props, such as here, where they were the foot and head board of a bed...
A more traditional rendition of a Tagore West Bengali myth where a king wants to keep dust off his feet & a wise man from the streets invents shoes!
Nandini in first chair, her director smiling next and play director for Calcutta International, Piali, in a conference before the heading to the green room.
CIS play held song & dance...
The main character, a college freshman, trying to convince his parents to pursue archeology & the supernatural/spiritualism instead of engineering.
His ultimate murder by a spirit of a famous Tagorian character who was locked in the spirit world, denied passage to see her loved ones because of unfinished life work.
Unbeknownst to Nandini, the director of her building, Dr. Das, had accepted invitations to a post-contest shindig sponsored by the British Council, to be held at the most prestigious place in town, the Bengal Club, a private club begun in 1834, with a waiting list to enter years long, re-affirming its pedigree each fall when it allows only a handful of people to join.
A wonderful, student-centered, connected, day was followed by short work on wifi at the American Center, then hurrying home to put on the best Western clothing I could find...I didn't pack anything too fancy!...& poof, there I was, back in time, tall back chairs circled in a parlor setting, in a stunning dining room purposefully set with people we didn't know, with snacks & beverages served by men in starched white uniforms & tall black wrapped turbans. Networking was the main purpose, so the British Council director, coordinator outreach director, three UK British Council representatives & at least five or six theater directors or Arts leaders heard about my purpose for my journey and goals for the GlobalConnext program! Thankfully I'd brought business cards & am learning to hone the mission statement to something manageable. Three other school leaders from Kol were there, along with the teacher coordinator from Mumbai, so those schools are all interested, too.
Piali, the director, Dr. Das, CIS director, & my friend, Nandini, who is English department chair & helped students edit the a very mature script! (As you can see, I'm taller than 75% of all Bengali women, much wider!...they are so petite!, & though there seem to be many more tall Bengali men - I've seen several over 6', I see at least a third of them eye to eye.)
The night was especially celebratory because Nandini's school, Calcutta International, was named as one of the seven finalists! I'll be in Delhi on the 10th, preparing to leave for Sweden, so I'll be able to be part of the home team cheer squad, plus the Mumbai students who befriended me also won....it was a delightful night, including a buffet of Bengali national dish, the bekket fish in a dijon sauce, au gratin vegetables, paneer masala, lasagna, breads galore, raita, hot, sweet & spicy fresh cabbage & pepper salad, dal, rice, almond soufflé & a cake they all knew as "mudpie", which looked like a layered flour-less torte. QUITE the evening!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The West Bengali welcoming spirit continues for someone who is so obviously a stranger. I was ushered into the theater without a formal pass, introduced to the coordinator since my friends had not yet arrived from the International school...he was a delightful young many who had performed to a second place finish last year - he stopped by during the performance to be sure that the diction was precise enough, & accent not too deep, to see if I was understanding the Tagore connections..it was very sweet. Then two young men from Mumbai engaged me in a conversation about why I was visiting & later a group of students, from the Ganga International School, along with their teacher, gave me a gift they brought to share with the one person they felt would most appreciate it, filled with writings by each student, along with a copy of their newsletter & an invitation to spend the day at their school when I am back Delhi; the teacher said, after asking my birth date, that she was a water source, too, as a Scorpion, & that both she & the girls had sensed I was someone for whom the number three would be relevant & three was their school's lucky number...they just gave the small head sideways nod of affirmation common in Indian body language, smiling, not at all surprised, when I said three had always been my favorite number. Such is the kind of meetings you have in India!
Mumbai play - they used only students for props, such as here, where they were the foot and head board of a bed...
A more traditional rendition of a Tagore West Bengali myth where a king wants to keep dust off his feet & a wise man from the streets invents shoes!
Nandini in first chair, her director smiling next and play director for Calcutta International, Piali, in a conference before the heading to the green room.
CIS play held song & dance...
The main character, a college freshman, trying to convince his parents to pursue archeology & the supernatural/spiritualism instead of engineering.
His ultimate murder by a spirit of a famous Tagorian character who was locked in the spirit world, denied passage to see her loved ones because of unfinished life work.
Unbeknownst to Nandini, the director of her building, Dr. Das, had accepted invitations to a post-contest shindig sponsored by the British Council, to be held at the most prestigious place in town, the Bengal Club, a private club begun in 1834, with a waiting list to enter years long, re-affirming its pedigree each fall when it allows only a handful of people to join.
A wonderful, student-centered, connected, day was followed by short work on wifi at the American Center, then hurrying home to put on the best Western clothing I could find...I didn't pack anything too fancy!...& poof, there I was, back in time, tall back chairs circled in a parlor setting, in a stunning dining room purposefully set with people we didn't know, with snacks & beverages served by men in starched white uniforms & tall black wrapped turbans. Networking was the main purpose, so the British Council director, coordinator outreach director, three UK British Council representatives & at least five or six theater directors or Arts leaders heard about my purpose for my journey and goals for the GlobalConnext program! Thankfully I'd brought business cards & am learning to hone the mission statement to something manageable. Three other school leaders from Kol were there, along with the teacher coordinator from Mumbai, so those schools are all interested, too.
Piali, the director, Dr. Das, CIS director, & my friend, Nandini, who is English department chair & helped students edit the a very mature script! (As you can see, I'm taller than 75% of all Bengali women, much wider!...they are so petite!, & though there seem to be many more tall Bengali men - I've seen several over 6', I see at least a third of them eye to eye.)
The night was especially celebratory because Nandini's school, Calcutta International, was named as one of the seven finalists! I'll be in Delhi on the 10th, preparing to leave for Sweden, so I'll be able to be part of the home team cheer squad, plus the Mumbai students who befriended me also won....it was a delightful night, including a buffet of Bengali national dish, the bekket fish in a dijon sauce, au gratin vegetables, paneer masala, lasagna, breads galore, raita, hot, sweet & spicy fresh cabbage & pepper salad, dal, rice, almond soufflé & a cake they all knew as "mudpie", which looked like a layered flour-less torte. QUITE the evening!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sept. 11-12, 2011 - Streets & Sidewalks
A noon Sunday walk & the streets were nearly bare, allowing me to capture a rare sight - an example of Kolkata sidewalks without the vendors & customers filling the space.
The traffic is globally notorious in India, Kol & Mumbai in particular...& there's no doubt that a ride in the ubiquitous yellow Ambassador cabs is an experience like no other!
It's on the sidewalks that one truly is pulled into the joys, sorrows, of daily life for most. You can find anything on the sidewalks of Kolkata. In my week of walking I've seen:
• service vendors - cobblers, horse & buggy rides, shoe shine, an opportunity to weigh yourself on a bathroom scale, mobile phone charging, clothing repair, motorcycle repair, barbers cutting hair or shaving men in the morning, sitting on a crate, with customers facing them on another crate, garbage sorters who have many tasks, including one woman who was pulling apart wet, dark grey cardboard looking 4" x 6" squares, laying them in the sun to dry, presumably to be recycled into more cardboard, & a man, squatting, sorting through a huge pile of receipts, each gathered into equal piles, rubber banded, then re-stacked again, ten bindered stacks together, to be tied with a course, thick twine. He was working through about half the sack, with neatly sorted stacks of ten rubber bands in one pile, twine bound together in skeins the size of his fist, and paper, paper everywhere. Brick makers are in a continual state of plying their craft, usually right in the middle of the sidewalk, utilizing every bit of clay then can find...digging out under the cobblestones put down decades ago, dredging out the grey clay with large hoes, filling the space with sand, replacing the cobblestones & carrying the clay down the block, or several blocks where a production line is formed of mixing clay with sand or grit, patting the mixture into molds, spread out in the sun, then others tapping out the finished bricks, stacked in tall stacks half the width of the already congested sidewalk.
• food vendors - breads & main courses, served on tin plates lined with banana leaves, chai, rose water, fresh fruit (papaya, bananas, watermelon, star fruit, a fruit we don't have that is green on the outside & like firm, white kiwi in the inside), fresh lemon and lime juice, freshly squeezed cane sugar juice, peeled cucumbers with salt, freshly roasting peanuts, snacks (mostly puri, a mixture of puffed bites, mixed with marsala spices & oil, tossed in a bowl & served in the day's newspapers, expertly folded into a cone with a tightly sealed bottom), fresh vegetables, fresh meats (very fresh, i.e, pick out your chicken to be butchered), fresh papaya or coconut drinks, w/ large machetes sitting at the ready to chisel off the top so a straw can be inserted, making a natural cup!, ice cream carts, filtered water carts, rice or bean in bulk
• merchandise vendors - a man who writes your name on rice to thread onto a necklace, jewelry, knick-knacks, basic cloth items like hankies, socks & t-shirts, shoes, mobile phone & computer screen covers, electrical plugs, etc., books, magazines, music CDs, postcards, maps, tobacco, small household items such as spoons, tea filters & linens, old coins & collectables
• even saw GreenPeace workers taking a survey & trying to get folks to donate, just like they do in NE and Uptown!
Many vendors, & all food stands, have more than one employee, with the youngest apprentices squatting on their haunches peeling stacks of potatoes or onions taller than they are. Add customers, cords stretched to hold up the tarps which form temporary roofs when it rains, puddles folks are trying to avoid after the rain burst, a block adopted stray dog, men playing cards between work shifts, clusters of folks gathered to chat over chai, stacks of building materials for the bamboo scaffolding & metal work going on constantly in some portions of the city as it grows into the malay & soon there's barely an aisle for one strand of pedestrians in each direction!
There are sad vignettes, too, as you move from place to place, though many fewer than when I first visited in 2007. I walked around a woman laying on a thin reed mat in the middle of the cobblestone sidewalk, a dark headed boy of three or four, using her thigh as a pillow, bent to contort with her shape to maximize the mat's surface area. Then, curled around her shoulder, the mother's arm crescent wrapped around her, a naked girl of maybe 18 months, small hands tucked into her mother's head scarf, using it as a thin pillow. Between the three barely a bit of the mat showed - all three were sound asleep, though a shower had just passed, & the cacophony of Kol traffic was in full, blaring blast of rush hour. Workmen were repairing the lighting of a sign feet from them, adding a ladder obstacle people had to navigate around, forcing them so very near to the small zone of protection she'd tried to create. I'd not seen this poignant an example of poverty directly downtown during my 2010 visit, hoping the gradual transformation from Communism to Socialism to Independent party this fall was eliminating the lowest level of living for Kolkatan citizens.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The traffic is globally notorious in India, Kol & Mumbai in particular...& there's no doubt that a ride in the ubiquitous yellow Ambassador cabs is an experience like no other!
It's on the sidewalks that one truly is pulled into the joys, sorrows, of daily life for most. You can find anything on the sidewalks of Kolkata. In my week of walking I've seen:
• service vendors - cobblers, horse & buggy rides, shoe shine, an opportunity to weigh yourself on a bathroom scale, mobile phone charging, clothing repair, motorcycle repair, barbers cutting hair or shaving men in the morning, sitting on a crate, with customers facing them on another crate, garbage sorters who have many tasks, including one woman who was pulling apart wet, dark grey cardboard looking 4" x 6" squares, laying them in the sun to dry, presumably to be recycled into more cardboard, & a man, squatting, sorting through a huge pile of receipts, each gathered into equal piles, rubber banded, then re-stacked again, ten bindered stacks together, to be tied with a course, thick twine. He was working through about half the sack, with neatly sorted stacks of ten rubber bands in one pile, twine bound together in skeins the size of his fist, and paper, paper everywhere. Brick makers are in a continual state of plying their craft, usually right in the middle of the sidewalk, utilizing every bit of clay then can find...digging out under the cobblestones put down decades ago, dredging out the grey clay with large hoes, filling the space with sand, replacing the cobblestones & carrying the clay down the block, or several blocks where a production line is formed of mixing clay with sand or grit, patting the mixture into molds, spread out in the sun, then others tapping out the finished bricks, stacked in tall stacks half the width of the already congested sidewalk.
• food vendors - breads & main courses, served on tin plates lined with banana leaves, chai, rose water, fresh fruit (papaya, bananas, watermelon, star fruit, a fruit we don't have that is green on the outside & like firm, white kiwi in the inside), fresh lemon and lime juice, freshly squeezed cane sugar juice, peeled cucumbers with salt, freshly roasting peanuts, snacks (mostly puri, a mixture of puffed bites, mixed with marsala spices & oil, tossed in a bowl & served in the day's newspapers, expertly folded into a cone with a tightly sealed bottom), fresh vegetables, fresh meats (very fresh, i.e, pick out your chicken to be butchered), fresh papaya or coconut drinks, w/ large machetes sitting at the ready to chisel off the top so a straw can be inserted, making a natural cup!, ice cream carts, filtered water carts, rice or bean in bulk
• merchandise vendors - a man who writes your name on rice to thread onto a necklace, jewelry, knick-knacks, basic cloth items like hankies, socks & t-shirts, shoes, mobile phone & computer screen covers, electrical plugs, etc., books, magazines, music CDs, postcards, maps, tobacco, small household items such as spoons, tea filters & linens, old coins & collectables
• even saw GreenPeace workers taking a survey & trying to get folks to donate, just like they do in NE and Uptown!
Many vendors, & all food stands, have more than one employee, with the youngest apprentices squatting on their haunches peeling stacks of potatoes or onions taller than they are. Add customers, cords stretched to hold up the tarps which form temporary roofs when it rains, puddles folks are trying to avoid after the rain burst, a block adopted stray dog, men playing cards between work shifts, clusters of folks gathered to chat over chai, stacks of building materials for the bamboo scaffolding & metal work going on constantly in some portions of the city as it grows into the malay & soon there's barely an aisle for one strand of pedestrians in each direction!
There are sad vignettes, too, as you move from place to place, though many fewer than when I first visited in 2007. I walked around a woman laying on a thin reed mat in the middle of the cobblestone sidewalk, a dark headed boy of three or four, using her thigh as a pillow, bent to contort with her shape to maximize the mat's surface area. Then, curled around her shoulder, the mother's arm crescent wrapped around her, a naked girl of maybe 18 months, small hands tucked into her mother's head scarf, using it as a thin pillow. Between the three barely a bit of the mat showed - all three were sound asleep, though a shower had just passed, & the cacophony of Kol traffic was in full, blaring blast of rush hour. Workmen were repairing the lighting of a sign feet from them, adding a ladder obstacle people had to navigate around, forcing them so very near to the small zone of protection she'd tried to create. I'd not seen this poignant an example of poverty directly downtown during my 2010 visit, hoping the gradual transformation from Communism to Socialism to Independent party this fall was eliminating the lowest level of living for Kolkatan citizens.
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Sept. 9, 2011 - The SP Quest (Part ২ Dui (Two)) & Other RAoK
After my hot, dense Kol street experience searching for safety pins, I plopped down into the Maharaja and eyed the glass shelves in the bar. A peg, shot, of Grey Goose is 150 INR ($2.50 USD). I gave purchasing one long consideration before deciding that no matter how nice a small sip would be not being able to count on ice being made from mineral water would mean that my peg would be at room temperature - & that wasn't such a refreshing idea! (In hindsight it was just as well - by mid-day on the 10th I had realized how little I was hydrating compared to my needs, so was glad I'd bypassed the dehydrating shot the day before.)
Soda may be my savior for now..."Thumbs Up!" cola was the only cold refreshment they had to offer. It was sweet! My own flat will be wonderful for many things - most of all, after only half a day of strolling the city, is my own fridge to lower temps to US grade cold.
The server I spoke with in the morning accepted my apologies for blowing into the quiet, posh restaurant like a Banshee, dropping into a seat & asking for anything cold! He so kindly said, "The heat and noise can make one hyper & to calm oneself is a challenge this time of the year." How very astute and unduly patient with me he was, the crazy lady from the Minnesota, who tromps around with unusually grey hair (most Indian women of means dye their hair their entire life) curly and wild in the humidity, who surprises everyone with even her muted tone, still speaking so very loudly by Indian standards (and US, I know :-), who doesn't recognize, & therefore does not honor, the class or level of the employees, saying "hi" to all, much to the consternation of those in higher levels...in short...no matter how much I try to comport & conform, I seem to still stand out. The sweltering, meandering, safety pin quest was shared with the three other servers who greeted me, one young man interjecting, "Yes, mum, in India the small most certainly always become the large", with affirming nods by all. The main server asked me to stay a moment when I was done with my light lunch of raita & fresh fruit...glancing at the dining room boss & lowering his voice, he whispered that he'd sent an underling to find safety pins for me. I nearly broke into tears! I ordered another soda to run cover for him & within a few moments a small packet of pins was set at my side with a quick slip of the hand & no eye contact. As I paid for my meal I thanked him & tried to add extra to pay for the pins & effort. He simply said, "Please, no, it's ours to you." Held back tears just long enough to make it to my stairwell...such magnificent people.
I'll add other Random Acts of Kindness to the comment section...I know there will be more...West Bengali's are wonderful!
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Location:Kolkata, West Bengal, India
13 September, 2011
The Maidan & vibrant green
Spent yesterday on the streets, strolling into new areas & revisiting the Victoria Memorial near the very beginning of the Maidan, before the heat simply about did me in! I'd not had lunch...you pass dozens of restaurants, hundreds of street stalls, surrounding you in smells...with the 110+º heat index, my sawar was truly soaked through the back...couldn't talk myself into venturing into new dining territory, with no recommendations from friends, &, more importantly, no promise of AC! So my room, cool as I knew it would be, was my only goal. I've not been that hot or weary in a very long time - after only just walking for two hours! Water is never truly cold coming out of the shower, so I used only the cold side, standing for a very long time, slowly getting back to a normal sense of self.
Time in the memorial gardens was worth it though! Couples use the space as a bit of private time in a culture where formal dating, holding hand in public & anything near kissing is not viewed well, leaving the gardens feeling hushed, secretive, adding to the grand view of Queen Victoria gazing over the grounds. It truly is a wonderful sense, making you feel like you're back in the Victorian days of protocol and grandeur.
The plant in the foreground is something I've seen sold in stores as indoor plants called croton. It was pruned like a topiary ball, growing taller than I, under the shade of one of the huge, locust like trees which fill larger public areas. Their leaves are close together, providing a completely shaded space, where no grass can grow, at least ten degrees cooler than being in the sun.
Another locust tree which shades the courtyard leading to my guest house. It's completely private, with large gilded wrought iron fences, & a minimum of three guards sitting at the pedestrian entrance gate & auto gate. There are also guards posted @ three spots in the courtyard, leaving guests feeling there are more than enough eyes gazing out for strangers. (I'm not sure how much they would confront someone if they decided to actually try to barge into the guest house and flats attached!)
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Time in the memorial gardens was worth it though! Couples use the space as a bit of private time in a culture where formal dating, holding hand in public & anything near kissing is not viewed well, leaving the gardens feeling hushed, secretive, adding to the grand view of Queen Victoria gazing over the grounds. It truly is a wonderful sense, making you feel like you're back in the Victorian days of protocol and grandeur.
The plant in the foreground is something I've seen sold in stores as indoor plants called croton. It was pruned like a topiary ball, growing taller than I, under the shade of one of the huge, locust like trees which fill larger public areas. Their leaves are close together, providing a completely shaded space, where no grass can grow, at least ten degrees cooler than being in the sun.
Another locust tree which shades the courtyard leading to my guest house. It's completely private, with large gilded wrought iron fences, & a minimum of three guards sitting at the pedestrian entrance gate & auto gate. There are also guards posted @ three spots in the courtyard, leaving guests feeling there are more than enough eyes gazing out for strangers. (I'm not sure how much they would confront someone if they decided to actually try to barge into the guest house and flats attached!)
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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