Helplessness and Joyfulness

Zachary Morrow

Kolkata is crazy, intense and full of joyful people but it is also an old, dirty and dangerous city. This combination makes sure you are never left standing still, nothing you do is boring. Kolkata is a shock to the system after the clean utopia of Singapore, the contrast between the two cities is immense and in many aspects, they are complete opposites. All the types of transport are interesting to ride for different reasons, rickshaws are an exhilarating experience unlike no other and travelling on both buses and ferries allow you to engage in conversation with locals.

When I arrived in Kolkata I was swept up into a journey which I had almost no control over. This is an extremely liberating experience and allows you to fully appreciate the city and fully engage in conversation with your peers. While I have so far loved my time in Kolkata there is one issue that has had a large impact on me, this is the homeless beggars that approach you on the street asking for money, my immediate reaction is shock at their deformities, malnutrition and amputations and my second is the helplessness I feel being unable to change their circumstances.

On a more positive note, today I was shown around Kolkata by several of the Jungle Crows, one of them was Ashish. Ashish is a smart and engaging young man who is in a constant joyful mood, his smile and the enthusiasm as he talked about his home city, not an only brought a smile to my face throughout the day but also made my day full of happy memories no matter how tired I was feeling. What I have failed to mention so far is that Ashish had just come off an eight-hour shift of work before he spent the day showing several almost strangers around Kolkata for the day without any complaints. Ashish's attitude and work ethic are something everyone should strive to achieve.