Too much traffic on my normal route home, so the Uber driver takes a short cut, until we come to a three-way intersection and he pauses - long enough for me to finally ask, "Do you know which way? Should we ask someone?"

"No, no madam. I will come to know the way."

Guess who's still not home?

An unusually pleasant day today:

- Morning rickshaw driver missed didn't swear or stop suddenly.
- Efficient meetings squeezed between classes with lots of set up 'n strike went smoothly
- Car dealership returned my documents (but not the car, yet - oh, I have been SPOILED elsewhere!)
- Swam for over a glorious hour
- Courteous and kind Uber driver home (The middle aged, muslim men always are in India, in my experience) 
- The snack shack guy on the corner, whose English is perfect, gave me change for a large bill even though I only bought a dozen eggs. 
- And the temperature has cooled down to 88F (31C) at 9pm, so I'm not actually sweating standing still. 

I await for the sky to fall. 

The Philanthropic Society of the Orthodox Church In Kolkata

The summer before I moved to India, I bumped into Mrs. Kasamias at church in Ohio. She was very excited for my move and encouraged me to visit Calcutta and meet her friend, Nectaria, who ran a children's orphanage. They had been classmates in school in Greece, and Mrs. Kasamias couldn't say enough good things about her friend.  In adjusting to my new life and job in Mumbai, traveling to Calcutta to meet a friend of a friend gradually fell down on my list of things to do…but it was always there, in the back of my mind, the willingness to bring greetings from one friend to another.  This year I finally made it to Calcutta..and what a lovely city it is. (see previous post) Although no one at the fancy hotel where I stayed knew of the Greek Orthodox Church in their city, the taxi drivers did, and were able to help me find it. They were only open for vespers when I arrived, but aside from having the doors open, nothing much was happening.  I decided to come back the next day for liturgy assuming my chances of meeting Nectaria would be better.  

Signage is prominent and accurate throughout Kolkata.

There were only a handful of people in attendance on Sunday, even though I arrived late, but there were three young ladies singing the familiar hymns of the cantor - in Greek, English, and Bengali. I spoke with them afterwards and they unfortunately informed me that Sister Nectaria was back in Greece for the summer. (just my luck!) They invited me to tea, though, to meet the priest, Father Raphael, who was quite affable, spoke highly of Sister Nectaria, and coincidentally had also baptized the Indian husband of a Greek friend of mine. The girls who had sung in church were all from the orphanage, so the priest invited me to come visit and meet the other children. As I had no real plans that afternoon, I agreed. 

The quality of charities and NGO's in India varies greatly. Even those with the best of intentions, the best funding, and the highest qualified personnel, can often seem dismal by international standards, so as we drove out of the city and into the countryside, my expectations were not very high. But as we turned a corner and crossed through a field, the orphanage came into site and I was truly amazed. Officially called The Philanthropic Society of the Orthodox Church, they not only have the church in Calcutta, but a boys and girls orphanage outside the city, as well as offering medical services, feeding programs, and development projects. 

The 'orphanage' they spoke of is actually so much more. On a large, lush green compound, with at least 10 clean and modern buildings, sits not only housing for the 97 girls who live there, but also a co-ed K-12 school, a church, cafeteria, administrative offices, guest houses for visitors, a playground, and a garden. At least, that's all I saw from my young tour guides and it was beautiful. Not just beautiful for India, but truly, beautifully laid out and cared for. It reminded me very much of Camp Nazareth. 

Most of their funding has traditionally come from Greece, but since the economic crisis their funding has also diminished. A few years ago a group from the U.S. made a promotional video about the orphanage called, The Lucky Girls, to raise awareness and support. You can see their Facebook page here and a promo video below.

Father Raphael shared with me the different expenses the society faces and the strategies they're using to make ends meet. With the economic situation in Greece still struggling  they have started to reach out to the diaspora Greek communicates in the U.S., Australia, and the UK, with some favorable responses. He requested that I also share their story and encourage others who have the means to help support them and the work they do. 

The girls were thrilled to have a visitor and very proud of their school and home. They gave me the grand tour all over again, pointing out every building, every fruit tree, and every little area with meaning. They had varying levels of English, but could happily belt out a tune in English or Greek. They were eager for me to sing them a song, or tell them a story, or teach them a new game.  Father Raphael has bills to pay in order to fed, clothe, and educate the girls…but like all children, they also simply want someone's undivided attention, and I was happy to share mine while I could.

Every a person of my word, I encourage you make a donation, if you can, and to share their story in the hopes that others may do the same. 

Mumbai.
The only city I've ever lived where all my chats with friends start with, 'Are you in Mumbai?'
Half the time the answer is, 'No.'

Put Up Your Dukes!

One of my teaching colleagues is also a semi-professional MMA fighter. Upon arriving in Mumbai, he looked into all the gyms, but found himself unchallenged. So he's now opened his own fight club in the city with a few others at his same level, and is now training them to compete.

He and his wife are lovely people and always encouraging me to come take classes. He thinks I'd be great at it and she insists I'd be in the best shape of my life. But all I keep thinking is - 'I don't wanna get hit.'

So the other day, the conversation comes up again at the lunch table and some other colleagues start brainstorming different martial arts for me to consider as a beginner. I feign ignorance of all of them, knowing that at some point, someone has to hit you…which I'd like to avoid.

Finally, someone asks which martial art I think would be more my style. I respond, 'Tai Chi', which is followed by a contemplative silence at the table, until someone says, "Yeah, that's just like pantomime. Totally you."

And……cue jazz hands!

Botanical Garden of Kolkata

The official name is Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden. Boasting the largest banyan tree canopy in the world, the entire garden is easily 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the city. 

It's more of a 'rustic' garden in that very little seems to be manicured. Everything seems to grow wild with birds, monkeys rodents and snakes roaming in a completely natural environment, even though quite of bit of maintenance was occurring when I visited.

Stunning...and everything I imagined India to be.

I don't know what kind of snake it is. I only know it stopped me in my tracks as it slithered barely a meter in front of me, and had to be almost two meters long, and there wasn't another soul in sight.

On the Road in Calcutta

A photo journal of things I found interesting on the road in Calcutta. 

The dashboard of the taxi driver, with no radio, who sang to himself the entire ride.

Inconsistent India

The official tourism board of India uses the catch phrase, 'Incredible India' in all its adverting. However, we who live here often refer to it simply as, 'Inconsistent India' because nothing is ever guaranteed here.

Today you find your favorite cereal in the market, tomorrow you don't. Today you need documents X, Y, Z to complete a transaction, tomorrow you also need A, B, & C. Today you can buy beef, tomorrow it's illegal in the entire state. The first answer to any query is always the reflexive, NO, but after some discussion and possibly a little bribe, you can get what you want if you give up your patience and time.

Knowing this and having a flight to catch this morning, I checked in online, booked an Uber taxi well in advance, and got to the domestic airport two and a half hours early for my flight. And then this happened:

• The Uber arrived within 3 minutes
• With no traffic on the street, I arrived at the airport within 10 minutes
• Went through entry security quickly with only two people in line in front of me
• No one in line at the boarding card kiosk or the baggage drop, and was done in 5 minutes

Fastest airport experience ever in India! So now I have two hours to kill before my flight…sitting having a coffee with actual, functioning, free wifi!

Not holding my breath for this to ever happen again, but enjoying it while it does. 

Inconsistent India, indeed!

What's In A Name...

Apartment hunting today. One building was called, 'AASHIT' - and that about sums up all the apartments I saw.