Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Let's Take a Walk

Hello again, Friends and Family,

Please put on your sandals and take a walk with me to the photo print shop...

...I hope you put on a hat, because the sun is beaming and the road is hot even at 11am...

...even the smaller lanes stay busy, especially in the morning and early evening. Look to the right, but watch out of the rickshaw ahead!...

...no, it's not grass. That's a stagnant pond! The last month of hot hot heat has really taken a toll on the water table...

...brick, mortar, and concrete. That's the recipe for architecture around here. Quick, turn around!...

...look at those goats! Whenever I walk past them, their dreaming about ancestral mountain homes. I guess pile of bricks will do these days...

...nope, don't take that turn. Don't get lost, this place is like a maze...

...ah, here we are. Sriniketan Road, one of the main thoroughfares around here. What's that to the left?...

...oh, it's one of those tea stalls on wheels. A bench, a tea pot, an awning, sugar, milk, a few cigarettes to sell and you're in business around here. Oh, speaking of being in business, look over there, to the right...

...if you don't feel like walking, just hop on a rickshaw and zoom around for a while. Why not, you'll only end up spending a buck or two. Let's go say hi....

...we come in peace, right? I'd be taking more than a few breaks if I were hauling around people in the hot sun (112F) all day...

...but it's not a bad way to earn an honest living, huh mister? You're not the only dignified, hardworking looking man I've seen around here. Is that right? This job allows you to send your two girls to school and live modestly. I'm impressed. Ok, well, I'm going...asche...

(25 minutes later)...well, I'm glad everything worked out at the photo shop. Four days does seem like a long wait for ten photos to be printed, though. Oh well, look over there. What a mix of huts, one story ramblers, and three floor mucho square footage houses. You don't see that in Seattle...

...another beaming example of 'the meek' and 'the middle' living side by side. It's like living in the suburbs where I'm from as far as the proximity to other houses goes, but instead of living next to other huge houses you have someone's trailer thirty feet from your house. I guess that's not all that far fetched. Hey, look over there...

...Woah! Look out for that chicken! Close call. But look at that, now THAT's far fetched. You won't find that in Edmonds. Yes, it's poo. People used it as cooking fuel around here. With all the goats, chickens, cows, and wild dogs roaming around, there is no shortage of it. All you have to do is gather a big wad like this, take a handful, flatten it out, and let it dry in the sun for a few days. Briquettes, on the cheap!...

...ah, we made it back to my nice friendly, safe neighborhood. What's that? What about the nails and barbed wire? Oh, well, that's to keep squatters out. West Bengal is run by a communist government, which deals with poverty by granting privileges to the poor so they stop complaining. So, if a squatter finds a comfortable corner in your yard for several days and decides to set up a shack to live in or sell goods out of, guess what happens? Yes, it becomes the squatter's property. Let's go pitch a tent in the neighbor's yard...

Ok, thanks for going on a walk with me. I had fun, let's do it again sometime.

Love,

Jeff





























5 comments:

  1. Hi Jeff and Andrew....
    Excellent pictures and good story telling. It was nice to see how you have grown understanding the poverty in India, and have begun to internalize it. Obviously, one big thing that hurts and worsens effects of poverty are: corruption and exploitation in many forms! Real, but hard!

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  2. That was a neat tour! I felt like I was there, almost...

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  3. Thanks for the comments, Puthumai and Hillary. There's a lot to learn about the poverty here. With the small exposure I've had so far, it's clear Indian poverty is a different beast than what we see in the US. Thanks for the affirming comments : )

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  4. This was super clever and must have taken a while to compile - thanks so much for taking the time. Really enjoyed this.

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