The City Of Joy

Miller

(8:00 8/12/17)

Only three full days in and India has taken control of all of us.  With a whole 6 of us sick, within this short bracket of time, I feel like a soldier.  In one day, with a group of Cam, George, Ben and some of the Jungle Crows, I've managed to: see various places of worship, eat biryani with my hands, go to two English schools, ride a ferry across the great Ponsonby river, cross the bridge and visit the station from the movie Lion, visit the homes of the Jungle Crows, sing Ka Waiata to one of the Crow's family, enjoy some traditionally made tea from home grown leaves and local goat milk, visit a park right in the path of many students' commute home, and play cricket with some of these smiling local kids.  I feel as if I have already seen everything in India, yet I know that's not the case, as I felt the same way after the crazy taxi ride home, and yesterday proved how far from the truth that was.  

Exploring the city of joy (which according to the Crows, becomes the city of violence at night), I have noticed a very interesting political scene.  Kolkata has had a very strong Communist presence, with the Communist party holding control in the poverty stricken city throughout the 70s and 80s.  Now there are two major parties, both centre left, which the Crows tell me often get into large and violent disagreements which has led to them staying away from any political ideological associations.

(22:00 8/12/17)

Today we saw the incredible actions of two Christian organisations here in the city of joy. The first was a social enterprise called "Freeset", in Kolkata alone there are 10,000 known female sex "workers" who are given no choice but to sell their dignity in prostitution or perish.  It is the aim of Freeset to offer as many of these victims as possible a stronger path, working in lively and clean factories to produce t-shirts and other items with all surplus reinvested into helping more people.  We were shown around one of the factories and were given the opportunity to purchase items the women had produced; I took this opportunity to spice up my India wardrobe with a man-salmon t-shirt captioned 'The sale is over.'

The second organisation was much more personal, "Future Hope" takes kids off the street and gives them a home and high quality education in English.  We went to see the talented and enthusiastic kids rehearse their play "The Lion King."  This in itself reminded me of the wise philosophy: Hakuna Matata, or no worries, an idea these children were certainly subscribed to, as we all saw in full blow when we enjoyed delicious meal and spent some quality time learning from the kids in their homes.  I had never seen anyone be so happy to be alive and to take absolutely nothing for granted.  After concluded our traditional dinner, sitting in a large circle on the floor, the girls started fighting to be the ones to take our plates and to wash them, a stark contrast to at home where kids will try and slip away to avoid the dishes.

Tomorrow Josh and I will feel right at home (at least for a minute) as we wake up at 5 am to attend a 6 am mass and visit the Saint Teresa memorial museum.  After that (and hopefully a much needed nap) we will go and hang out some more with the Jungle Crows.

I feel like I am at home and am having a great time, the people here are lovely and it's great to be called sir by strangers, boss by shop owners/restaurant waiters, and uncle by kids.  I try not to think about home too much as the now is more important and I know that my family is definitely in a better position now than the vast majority of people I meet here.  Good night all and Hakuna Matata.