The wee hours of the 8th of June was when I saw this city for the first time....the city which is to be my home for the next 6 months. I walked out of the airport to see drops of rain...were they signifying anything? I'd hope not...!
I had a car waiting for me outside and as soon as I read my name on the board I couldn't help but smile.....I had worked hard for this day...!The person took my bag to a guesthouse where i'm staying. I've gotten so used to the comfort of living at home. now that I have stepped out I realize how thankful I am for the life I've had.....for the delicious food my mom makes, for the washed clothes i got everyday, for the clean room I stayed in, for the TV i watched, for the PC I had....I miss it all!!!
Having said that, I don't have too much to complain....atleast not yet...!!Food in Calcutta is .....umm....lets say different. I just love the "rolls" around here..and eat a whole lot of them. So I ain't getting any thinner...! You have to be in Kolkata to appreciate things around here. You would hate it to start of with and then you’d realize….hang on …its not all that bad a place…Here are a few things which amazed me about the city.
- The pace….people never seem to be in any sort of a hurry. Horrific traffic, slow moving trams, bad roads….yet, noone complains…ever!
The people….. considering the awesomely hot and humid weather, not to mention the shabby infrastructure I already mentioned, you would expect people to have a really short temper. But no…I haven’t seen 2 bengali’s fight yet…and its been almost 5 days! Probably they are too lazy to fight!!! - The pride….for one I being a punjabi would hate to caught talking in punjabi in office….but people here are proud of their language….They wouldn’t give it up for anything. So its bengali in offices, bengali in markets, Bengali all around. (By the way here’s sumthing which is peculiar about the lingo…there are no “a’s” only “o’s”……there are no “S” only “sh”…. Weird!!!)
- The divide….extreme poverty! I thought delhi was bad….you can see the poor…mostly Bangladeshi refugees living in horrible conditions!!
- The Ambassador’s…. You would be lucky if you saw any other car here….!!! And people will wonder why you didn’t buy a amby!! I wonder why this infatuation with amby….. leftism at its pinnacle I guess!!
- Politics….Okay..U have to believe this coz I saw this with my very own eyes….A random person with a megaphone delivering a “speech” on “increased fuel prices” on a random corner and random people actually stopping ant listening to him…..!!
I’m sure I’ll keep unearthing more about Calcutta…..there’s so much to discover…good and bad!!
More later….Now’s not forever:-).
