City of Joy

I'm back in full force in Calcutta, City of Joy! Health, appetite and zest are all back :) 

The train journey was long but quite good. Got a tuk-tuk from Adora Hotel to the train station, with a very friendly driver who chatted with me all the way, and wished me happy travels. (He looked wide-eyed at the size of my bags when I got in and asked how long I was here for - 5 months. He said I had too much luggage. He's right.) Waited about half an hour before getting onto my first rain, a 5 hour AC chair car to Chennai. There was a mix-up on my ticket about my seat# being a window-seat, which caused a bit of an issue, and I spent most of the ride in the aisle seat. But the bigger problem was the cockroaches. Tiny, small, and not-so-small bugs infested the train. They were on the floor, on the walls, and worst of all, on the seats. I tried not let it bother me too much, as no one else seemed to even notice (I was yet again the only westerner on the train), but the little creatures were on my mind a lot of the way. I had to shoo a few away as they crawled near me on my seat, and occasionally step on one that got too close to my toes, but that's as bad as it got. Towards the end of the trip, I had a short chat with the lady next to me, who lived in Bengaluru and was going to visit her parents in Chennai. Left at 2:30pm, arrived shortly after 8. 

In Chennai, I had a 3+ hour wait until my next train to Kolkata at 11:40pm. The inside of the station reminded me a little of the inside of Victoria Station in Mumbai. It's the type of scene and station you would see in movies about India. Hot, sticky, smelly, packed, seats and floor full and covered with waiting passengers. I walked around a little, trying to find a decent spot to settle down for 3 hours with all my stuff. Options and space were very limited. And then, I saw a sign: pre-paid AC waiting room. I try to travel pretty modestly, but this was a little luxury I was happy to spoil myself with. Just $1.50 for the 3 hour wait in a cool room with comfortable (and available) seats. Settled in with a smile (another super-friendly male worker at the money desk) and continued reading Life of Pi, which I had started in Bangalore. Haven't finished The God of Small Things yet, not because I don't like it (it's great!) but because it's really neat to read a book according its location. Chennai is near Pondicherry, which is where Life of Pi begins. Love it so far. Read, wandered, and ventured out of the room to snap a few pics of the station scenes, then headed to my train at 11:15.

Again, I was the only white person in sight. (They don't call it low season down here for nothing!) Walked past the lower class seat cars, where people were hanging out of windows and doors, seated one top of the other inside (but I have yet to see people ride on the roof); walked past the non AC sleeper cars (which Blaire and I had taken on our last journey); and finally, after about a 10 minute walk, made it to 3AC (third class AC sleeper - 2nd and 1st were still further down). Managed to haul my big bag up onto the upper bunk with the help of a neighboring man. Then, managed to create a comfortable arrangement for me and all my stuff on the little bed. There wasn't much possiblity of stretching my legs out straight to sleep, but it would have to do. I was on the side of the train that is only two bunks high, the beds parallel to the window (though only the lower bunk has window view). Once again, a very friendly working man: the train ticket checker was the first one I've had who took a few seconds of his time to ask me where I was from and whether I liked India. "I love it!" He smiled. Read for a while as people settled in and the train made its way north. A bit of yoga music before bed, then a decent sleep given the conditions.

Fell asleep a around 1am, and managed to stay in bed till 9:30 (with a few expected wake-ups, of course). Well, I would actually be staying in bed all day, but sitting up and going for the occasional pee or leg stretch or glimpse out the open door between train cars. Read, wrote, and listened to music. Peered over at the laptop on which the family across and below watched movies in the afternoon. Stopped the train sellers for a few chais and small snacks. Brushed my teeth at the common sink as I watched a little boy stand and pee all over the bathroom floor. Then I went in, closed the door, stepped on his pee (didn't have much of a choice), and tried to aim a little better than he did. I must say, I've become quite a pro at these train squat toilets. Then I got my blanket out for night #2. (The AC is pretty intense, but I'm definitely not about to complain about the cold!) AC sleeper cars provide pillow, sheets and a blanket, the first two which I was happy to use, but their blanket was far too thick and heavy. Pulled out my orange Tibetan one from Rishikesh. Reading, yoga music, then the gentle swaying of the train to rock me to sleep. 

We were scheduled to arrive at 5am, and at 4:44 I was awakened by voices, light, and shuffling. Rubbed my eyes, had a little stretch, and packed away my few things. At 5:15, the train was stopped at Howrah Station, Kolkata. I got out and walked along the platform from the back to the front of train, through the station and out the front to the pre-paid taxi booth. Got myself a ticket for a $1.50 to Sudder Street. Walked to cab #572, and this time, a not-so-friendly male worker. He just watched and waited as I struggled to get my bags into the back seat. Most drivers have offered to help (and sometimes got a good laugh at size and weight my bags), and to them I would leave a tip. This one, nope. He didn't so much as say hello. Got a great view of Howrah station as we pulled away, an enormous, beautiful, bright red brick building. Then, on the way, I watched the sun rise over the city, as street vendors set up their stalls or caught their last few moments of sidewalk sleep. I loved it already.  (Was that only this morning? Feels like ages ago.) When we got to Sudder street, the driver asked me for the name of my hotel. Fairlawn. He looked unsure, so I kept my eyes peeled. A minute later, I saw it, but he didn't stop. Had to tell him to back up. Got my bags out alone again, thanked him, and walked to reception. 

Fairlawn (www.fairlawnhotel.com) is likely to be priciest I place I stay on this trip (besides the places Jim treated us to), but after two nights on a train, I thought I'd spoil myself with a nice room (about 55 bucks for the night). And it's a place full of history and character, run by an excentric-looking, ageing British woman and her daughter (photos of Brit royalty everywhere - Diana, Charles, William&Kate). The woman initially ran it with her husband, whom she met here in Calcutta, at the Fairlawn, but he passed away several years ago. It's a quirky, charming place, that has attracted writers, jounalists, musicians and movie stars. The decor is anything but modern, with old pieces hap-hazardly strewn about. The walls have old photos and newspaper clippings, and feminist cartoon posters. I arrived at 6am, so of course, my room was not available yet. I put my bags into storage and sat in the open garden terrace to write and read some protest art magazines that were lying around. Walked to the corner of the street for breakfast at Blue Sky Cafe, recommended in my travel book. Had a nice ice-coffee and french toast. Walked around a little, checking other lodgings along the street (since I couldn't afford the Fairlawn for more than one night). Gradual downgrade to the $20 Golden Apple Boutique Hotel (though nothing like the Purple Lotus Boutique Hotel Jim took us to in Bangalore: http://www.purplelotus.in/main.html) for 2 nights, then a week at Galaxy Guesthouse, a gem of a budget place ($7), with only 6 rooms, run by a super friendly Sikh man. Productive walk with great bookings.

Back at Fairlawn I had about another hour to wait before check-in. I sat back down and read The Bengal Post. On the front page was news of yesterday's earthquake in Indonesia. Apparently, a beach in Chennai was evacuated, and the front desk man asked me if I had felt anything, but I didn't. I was already a little further up the coast by then. There was also news of an Indian father beating his 3-month-old daughter to death because he wanted a boy. Unfortunately, this isn't all that uncommon here. As much as I love India, it still holds beliefs and customs that make me cringe. Another article spoke of the ongoing rivalry between India and Pakistan: "One in 10 children who doesn't go to school lives in Pakistan. One in 3 children in the world who is malnourished lives in India. And these countries insist on sending young men to a frontline where there is no war, where there is nothing to fight over, and where 4,000 soldiers have died, mostly because it's just too cold." Then there were a couple on censorship, Gunter Grass poetry banned in Israel, and Karl Marx removed from the curriculum of Indian high school education. So there's what's up in this area of the world.

I watched as Mrs. Violet Smith, the plump, red-haired owner of Fairlawn, had her breakfast in the open restaurant and was then helped out to the terrace to her reserved cushioned chair to read her newspaper with a magnifying glass - reminded me of Grand-Maman, minus the fans :) 

At 10am, checked into my cold, huge room. Again, all old pieces that looked as if they could be found in your grandparents' home. Had a nice shower and went back out into the streets for lunch and to book my trains for Varanasi and Delhi. Had planned to stop at several other places along the way, but decided to minimize travel and transportation because of all my luggage. So I'll be skipping Darjeeling, Bodhgaya, Allahabad and Khajuraho, keeping them all for one of my next trips to India. I decided to stay longer than planned in Calcutta since I had a good feeling about it as soon as I got here. Will explore the tourist sights this weekend, then hopefully do some volunteer work at the Mother Teresa orphanage all of next week. Saturday the 21st, I leave for the mystical, magical city of Varanasi, and after a week there, it's back to where I started, Delhi.

I'm delighted to state that the weather here is quite pleasant. Sure, it's hot, but not the intense heat I had braced myself for. Just 34 degrees. Only minor drippage. No problem! And I've seen a bunch of young travelers already - a nice change from Bangalore -  including a girl from Saskatoon when I was reserving my week at Galaxy.

Today's closing quote is one of my favorites from Life of Pi so far:

"I described Mr. Kumar's place as a hovel. Yet no mosque, church or temple ever felt so sacred to me. I sometimes came out of that bakery feeling heavy with glory. I would climb onto my bicycle and pedal that glory through the air... The feeling, a paradoxical mix of pulsing energy and profound peace, was intense and blissful."