A Tapestry of Calcutta
The name of Calcutta, India, has been changed to Kolkata. I shall use the name Calcutta as that was the name of the city while I was there in 1989.
The following is some of my experiences in Calcutta. It is a surreal place:
A woman approached me with a babe in arms. My baby’s hungry, needs powder milk, she said, holding out her hand. I was totally in shock. I told here that I would take her to buy milk. At the store, Indian men were laughing. She’ll just sell it back! one man said. I still bought it of course, but was in shock. How could someone tell me it was for her desperate baby, just to sell it back to make money. I was totally shocked.
Later that day, I got in a taxi, I suddenly smelled a foul stench. There was a lot of land and covering it were hundreds of crowded pigs. Above them were even more crows, diving in between the pigs. And everywhere there were flies, covering everything. I can’t describe the noise- squeals, caws, and buzzing. The same thing is going on in the West though, I know, but we cover it up.
Next I went to the market. A skinny man with the dexterity of an acrobat carried crates of fresh eggs. He carried them up rickety brick steps, one stack in each arm. His eyes flashed everywhere. He noticed me, smiled, and nodded. I was beginning to like this place. People were real people. Down to Earth, real people.
Down the main avenue of Calcutta, the sidewalks were lined with literature of every sort. Bengalis are learned people and proud of it. All of it was used, and much of it was in English as well as Bengali. I came across magazines, fiction, non-fiction, textbooks; you name it. There was no trash and no comics and the passerby treated all vendors and goods with respect.
When eating at night, there was many restaurants to choose from, but I was a little afraid to try most of them. I found a quiet little street stall and had an awesome bowl of curry. Best curry I have ever had!
There are many reasons why I wouldn’t recommend Calcutta to the 5 star tourist, but if you want a really great place to find down to Earth, real people, then Calcutta is just the place. In human terms, it is the most amazing place I have ever been.
This article was written by Dinah Jackson who is a nutritionist in Japan. To find the rarest Japanese Pokemon cards, check out the store that has every kind of Japanese Pokemon cards that you can imagine. Also an incredible selection of Japanese Pokemon plush toys, figures, binders, deck boxes, sleeves, and just about anything you can imagine. Delivered right to your front door from Japan.
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