9/2: First post from India

We all get caught in the rain sometime, with different degrees of shelter.

Yesterday's one in a half hour ride from the airport to Sudder Street in the center of Calcutta exemplified the differences of India to Thailand. It started with the taxi drivers as we walked out of the airport. They do not stop at one "no," but continue to negotiate as if nothing was said. Persistence due to desperation, I think. The society and infrastructure seem organized in a way to encourage conflict instead of harmony. Two lanes become four, horns blaring constantly, any minute space an opportunity to cut someone off. The road is shared by buses, taxis, private cars, bicycle and hand drawn rickshaws, human trucks, pulling their overloaded loads behind them.

India seems to have 4 classes, like everywhere else, it is just that the differences are more extreme. There are very many homeless people. You see whole families sleeping on the street. I imagine that some work and some beg. The beggars are more persistent as well, following you up the street, grabbing your arm.

Then there is the working class, both lower and upper middle class. I am guessing the difference can be determined to some degree by their clothing and their work. The more "affluent" middle class are driven around by taxis, wear western clothing, and speak fair to excellent English.

The upper class I do not see. They are the same everywhere in the world - they drive the same cars, buy the same products, vacation in the same hotels.

I went for a walk this morning, but it was more like a sit, for there is so much going on in the street. You don't need to go anywhere or do anything. The poorer the people, the more visible their lives. I wanted to take pictures of everyone, but felt uncomfortable, for just because they are poor does not make the streets are a zoo. There must be some unwritten codes about privacy in places where lives are totally exposed - men washing themselves at the water pumps on the street, families laying on rags on the sidewalk, men sleeping in their rickshaws.

And then it started to rain. I found a little awning shelter to stand under. I watched a traffic jam as a truck, cab and rickshaw all plied for the same space. These small streets off of Sudder Street are more like alley ways. The city was constructed for walkers and rickshaws, not trucks.

Yesterday, when we finally arrived on Sudder Street (Noah said the taxi ride, which was really just an enterprising young man in a private vehicle, was the worst experience of his life. "Your life has been pretty blessed then." I replied, and Noah agreed.) , I set Noah and our gear down in a restaurant and searched for a hotel. The hotel the "taxi driver" took us to cost $60 a night, so I was a little worried about the quality of room I would find on my budget. Luckily, there were 4 "traveler" hotels clustered together near the restaurant. I chose the nicest room I saw, which was only $8 a night. I think Noah was a little worried when I described the room to him, but he was plesantly surprised. "I love this room," he said. It is large - 2 king-size beds, private bath, and 2 large fans hanging from the 12 foot high ceilings. There is even a window to provide a small breeze. I think the room was nice at one time, but that was years and years ago.

Noah took a nap and I went out exploring. I found everything on my list really easily - a mosquito net for Noah, a Hindi phrase book, passport photos for our Nepali visa (8 photos for $2), a map of Calcutta, the tourist office, and a copy machine to copy our passports.

Buying the mosquito net was an interesting experience. As I walked up Chowringhee Road, the main shopping street in this area, with the sidewalk doubling as a flea market, with everything you could ever need for sale and more people together than is possible to imagine, a very nice looking, well dressed young man appeared next to me and started a conversation. Eventually the conversation came around to the point of our meeting - he has a store that sells crafts - silk scarves, Kashmiri blankets and bed covers, etc. I told him that I was not buying anything, for I don't want to carry it. All I need is a mosquito net. "I sell mosquito nets too!" he informed me. So as I sat in his shop, waiting for his "man" to retrieve the mosquito nets from somewhere else, he served me tea and shared his products. "No cost for looking," he said. Eventually the man came back with 6 mosquito nets, all different sizes, colors and qualities. The price of the one I wanted started at 950 rps (about $20), and I ended up buying it for 500 rupees. I have no illusions that I got the "best price," but I enjoyed the process and company.

Finally, around 6PM, I was able to get Noah up from his nap. The evening was like a festival. Did I write earlier about more people than you can imagine." Well, I was wrong. It turns out that a festival is approaching, and everyone is out shopping. We ate great food on the street - puri (fried bread), chick pea curry, dhai vada (fried donuts soaked in yogurt with crunchy stuff sprinkled on top and dribbled with a sweet syrup), sweet coffee and fresh pineapple juice (no ice).

Then Noah wanted to walk to the Hugli River. Not surprisingly, we got lost and during our wanderings, which were very pleasant, I became very tired. It was then that I realized I was functioning on 3 hours sleep (my last night in Bangkok I went to sleep at 2AM, only to awake at 5AM to pack and catch our 6AM shuttle to the airport). I was so tired I actually suggested to hail a taxi to find our way back. After a futile attempt to hail taxis, we did find our way back to our neighborhood.

So here I am writing this entry in my journal in a little tea stall, 8 feet by 6 feet, 4 tables, with delicious chai, puris and sabji (vegetables). When I left the tea shop, I was approached by the little women in the picture below. She helped me to find this Internet cafe. Along the way I heard her life story (what I could understand of it) - she and her 4 children living on the street, something happened to her husband 1 year ago. She strategically guided me past the rice seller. I bought her 2 kilos of rice and oil to cook it. She was very happy.