We're back to cheap Internet!! So, where I last left off....
Oh Kolkata...
Being in Goa, and the south and the tropical paradise, "easy" version of India made it easy to forget the social problems, poverty and pollution of the rest of the country. They still exist in these areas, of course, but the sparkle of the ocean and the fresh seafood make it easy to give that little extra push to get those pesky problems out of our minds. But arriving to Kolkata on March 13 thrust those things full force front and center into our minds and the days in Kolkata were surprisingly hard for me. I'd gotten to used to the easy India and it was hard to adjust. Kolkata gave me the overall first impression of being dirty, polluted, and in various states of decay with this feeling of aggressiveness in the air. I was only there one day, and we are headed back in a couple days, so I know this is just first impression, and I'm willing to give the city another chance, but this is what I thought about it upon first arriving. Kolkata is generally associated with abject poverty and disease, since most of us are only able to reference Kolkata joined with Mother Theresa and her work, and it's as if the city knows its reputation and is fighting against it, but has given up, half giving into the bad parts, half rebelling against them in a mean aggressive, cynical way. There were some nice parts-government buildings and homes of ruling leaders, but all heavily guarded and fenced in.
We arrived to the airport of Kolkata from the south of India and after the usual search for "driver who will rip us off the least" we were taken to a guesthouse, checked into a somewhat dirty, windowless room, and headed into the city center. We walked around Sudder Street, the obvious center for travellers, the market areas, and ended the day with the Kali Temple and Mother Theresa's hospice. Walking around, we were constantly approached by beggars, which quickly began to take it's toll..."no, I can't give you anything, but in 20 minutes, I'm going to spend 50 rupees on an ice cream that I don't need". The guilt factor reared it's head again, but there were so many of them, this overwhelming feeling of helplessness began to take hold of me. I mean, even if we could give 100 rupees to each of them, what would it solve? The only way I could handle it was to be pretty cold to all of them, giving them a firm NO, or just ignoring them, but that act also got to me quickly, because honestly, they-we- are just trying to get through life, why should I treat them badly or meanly just because I've been dealt a better hand? But how can we help everyone or even 1% of them? There were just too many people in need. Also, the staring and overwhelming majority of men in the streets really got to me in Kolkata. Walking through the markets, there were areas in which I was literally the only woman within sight, and in which almost every set of male eyes were trained on me, something that gets very intimidating, extremely quickly. And the driving! It seemed that every driver was in a contest to a) get to their destination faster than anyone else gets to theirs, and b) to get the closests to hitting all pedestrians as possible, bonus points for causing the look of sheer ohmygodthey're going to hit me, panic in their eyes speeding by...but we're back to Kolkata in two days, I'm open to changing my opinion of the city!
which bring me to...
Oh Kolkata...
Being in Goa, and the south and the tropical paradise, "easy" version of India made it easy to forget the social problems, poverty and pollution of the rest of the country. They still exist in these areas, of course, but the sparkle of the ocean and the fresh seafood make it easy to give that little extra push to get those pesky problems out of our minds. But arriving to Kolkata on March 13 thrust those things full force front and center into our minds and the days in Kolkata were surprisingly hard for me. I'd gotten to used to the easy India and it was hard to adjust. Kolkata gave me the overall first impression of being dirty, polluted, and in various states of decay with this feeling of aggressiveness in the air. I was only there one day, and we are headed back in a couple days, so I know this is just first impression, and I'm willing to give the city another chance, but this is what I thought about it upon first arriving. Kolkata is generally associated with abject poverty and disease, since most of us are only able to reference Kolkata joined with Mother Theresa and her work, and it's as if the city knows its reputation and is fighting against it, but has given up, half giving into the bad parts, half rebelling against them in a mean aggressive, cynical way. There were some nice parts-government buildings and homes of ruling leaders, but all heavily guarded and fenced in.
We arrived to the airport of Kolkata from the south of India and after the usual search for "driver who will rip us off the least" we were taken to a guesthouse, checked into a somewhat dirty, windowless room, and headed into the city center. We walked around Sudder Street, the obvious center for travellers, the market areas, and ended the day with the Kali Temple and Mother Theresa's hospice. Walking around, we were constantly approached by beggars, which quickly began to take it's toll..."no, I can't give you anything, but in 20 minutes, I'm going to spend 50 rupees on an ice cream that I don't need". The guilt factor reared it's head again, but there were so many of them, this overwhelming feeling of helplessness began to take hold of me. I mean, even if we could give 100 rupees to each of them, what would it solve? The only way I could handle it was to be pretty cold to all of them, giving them a firm NO, or just ignoring them, but that act also got to me quickly, because honestly, they-we- are just trying to get through life, why should I treat them badly or meanly just because I've been dealt a better hand? But how can we help everyone or even 1% of them? There were just too many people in need. Also, the staring and overwhelming majority of men in the streets really got to me in Kolkata. Walking through the markets, there were areas in which I was literally the only woman within sight, and in which almost every set of male eyes were trained on me, something that gets very intimidating, extremely quickly. And the driving! It seemed that every driver was in a contest to a) get to their destination faster than anyone else gets to theirs, and b) to get the closests to hitting all pedestrians as possible, bonus points for causing the look of sheer ohmygodthey're going to hit me, panic in their eyes speeding by...but we're back to Kolkata in two days, I'm open to changing my opinion of the city!
which bring me to...
