That time I was a oung 22 year girl. My dad just told me, he remembers the day I left back in 2001. He saw me arrangin my bagback looking like I knew exactly what I was doing and from that moment he trusted that I know what I was doing and didn't worry too much.
I went for Goa for few days and then entered the train ride of 36 hours up till Kolkata. I was in India for my intership and stayed almost 3 months in the city. And from the first steps on the streets I somehow fell in love.
I was working for local ngo called IPER (Institute for psychological and educational research). They give education for shcool and slum children, and now days much more i heard.
I was doing the intership with two other girls from my school and we held "Creativity Club" for some of the school Children, something that is not highly encouraged in India. We sang, we drew, we played games. And tried to look what kind of change it makes in children...and the change was big, even the local people admitted this in the end.
Kolkata always stayed in my mind but I did not return for few years. 2005 I went to travel in South East Asia, and after 6 months I found myself...yes you guessed correct in south Asia and Kolkata. I ended up to volunteer at Mother Theresas house for destitute and dying through a special friend of that time. I fell in love with area of Kalighat, with lots of color and flavor and feelinfg of India. I truly did enjoy the work as well. I am not religious or a member of any religious movement. Still i liked the work i personally did. I did also meet some good people there. I never stopped to have the patients in my heart and i did dedicate many moments for them, and I came back to Kolkata time after time. Still I had many doubts in my mind while working. I stayed but same time the plan was in my head to find new ways, more like me, to work.
That time I also found one of my favourite places in India, Sudder Street. It is a tiny street packed with guest houses and restaurants for tourist. But it has not lost the indian vibe either. Though now days a very different place than 5 years ago, it still feels home everytime I come back. Familiar faces greet you and seem happy that you truly have come back as you promised. Familiar street food is served, and the bed where you slept last time is there too.
To be a global nomad can be sometimes hard. Having itches to go and move give you a restless heart too. But when you find a place where it is good, and itch gets less, it is better to sit down for a while. And Kolkata has been my resting place for long time. It is good to see new places, but sometimes it is just simply better to go back to where it was good. In my life Kolkata has been a major thing, and I have enjoyed my time here mostly working. So I could call it my second home. And definitely it is what made me what I am nowdays.
It is noisy, dirtly, polluted city. There is no one step taken here without hearing the horns of the cars. The air is heavy and definitely not friendly for your health or skin. I have been to Mumbai and Delhi...even Chennai but none of the big cities gave me much. Actually I did not like them at all. But Kolkata has some different vibe in it, and I am not only one saying this. Actually this is beautiful city too...when you look at old buildings you can see how great architecture they have used back in time. This is also a cultural capital of India so something is going on all the time.
Some one just asked me, what are the best tourist attractions in Kolkata. I fell silent, as I really don't know. It is long time ago i went to see the few. For me best that this city has to offer is the streets and people. Bengali people are one of the best in whole country. HArd to believe i have spent all together months and months here but I still have nothing much to recommend in that sense. (Now that I think I could say some things...but not sure others get what I get from old graveyards or modern art exhibitons... )
Off to get some katirolls (oily thin bread filled with paneer-cheese and onion in tomatoe sauce. if you feel like egg or chicken, it is possible!), one of the snacks Kolkata has to offer. Really unhelathy, but rrreeally tasty!
My home, Modern Lodge room no. 7A
No comments:
Post a Comment