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So, I thought I’d try and give you a sense of what I get up to each day here, basically its pretty much the same as any working day in the UK unsurprisingly, but it gives me a chance to tell you about a few random things along the way.
A day in the life…
No need for an alarm clock, the serial beggers, the builders or my landlord’s family will have been at the window screaming and shouting way before any morning should ideally begin. I climb from under my mosquito net and dance my way to the shower. As I’ve already said, I have more than my fair share of mosquitoes and I’ve discovered that they don’t like moving targets, hence the mosquito dance - it’s basically a skip across the flat whilst flapping all your limbs. My aim each morning is to run the gauntlet until after I’ve finished washing, at which point I can smoother myself in filthy toxic mosquito repelling chemicals and relax… umm, a little oxymoronic me thinks. So of course, when I say shower, I mean bucket wash. There is actually a shower in my flat, but the water is so disgusting that
I wouldn’t even use it to wash the floor, let alone my body. Thankfully, I’m actually enjoying my bucket washes; there is nothing like a bucket of cold water to both cool you down and wake you up. Post wash, I have to wash the floor or do laundry pretty much everyday. The dust in the air here means that everything develops a layer of muck before very long. The laundry mountain comes as a result of both the immense amount sweating I’m managing to do and the distinct dearth of clothes I seem to have here.
Chores complete, I’m off out to battle with Bakrahat Road to get my breakfast. Baring in mind that I’m still lacking a fridge, I have the daily joy of negotiating the kamikaze tuctucs, the oversized buses, the drunk bicyclists, the marauding shoppers, the perpetual murders, the power-crazed delivery vehicles and about 4 million random people who… well, they just exist, I’m not quite sure if anyone knows what they’re doing or why, but for whatever reason, Bakrakat Road between 8am-10am and 6pm-8pm is absolutely like no-where else I’ve seen - utter mayhem. It can literally take me 20 minutes to go the
approx 250m to Thackers, the yoghurt shop and back. Thakurpukur is an unexpected place. It’s officially a suburb of Kolkata, but in reality it’s a sprawling community along a major road out of the city towards Diamond Harbour on the coast. The community is focused on the Bazar (Market) and Bakrahat Road, but actually is really large. This means that it is deceptive what actually is available in this community, just nothing useful unfortunately. For example you can buy coal, cement, pot plants and car tyres without much problem, but a search for your food basics could prove fruitless. The fact that numerous small lakes line the development makes it an interesting place to wander round, if not nearly as attractive as it sounds. TPB (Thakurpukur Bazar) is a predominantly Muslim area, though the architecture doesn’t really reflect this. You wouldn’t know if it wasn’t for the pervasive calls to prayer.
By the time I get home from the Bazar, I feel like I’ve earnt my breakfast and sit on my back door step enjoying the cool breeze and watching people swim in the lake. Breakfast is followed by round 2 of chores; the inevitable washing up and sweeping
the patio (you have to be seen to sweep everyday, it’s a sign that you respect your surroundings and play your part in the community) and then its time to head off to work. Strictly there’s no such thing as a start time at work; ideally we should arrive by 10am and leave at 6pm, but the one time I tried to arrive at 10am I found the office still locked and so soon gave up on that one, I generally arrive between 10.15 and 11am and am always one of the first in.
At the moment at BNP+ we are in the run up to hosting a series of events as part of Global AIDS Week of Action 2008. This means; a procession through town, an associated press conference and a ministerial advocacy meeting. These events are due to take place on 21st and 22nd May. BNP+ in there wisdom, began planning them 2 weeks ago. So in three weeks, we are fundraising, inviting participants (including ministers and government officials just 2 days after local elections take place), sorting out a venue, liaising with the police, sorting out a press conference and so on… As you can imagine
this is proving stressful, but primarily because no more work is getting done than usual, its just that people are walking around the office faster, making loader huffs of exhaustion and more regularly saying little gems like, ‘wow, hard work isn’t it’. Meanwhile Rosalyn and I are doing the lion’s share of the work, although in theory there are about 10 staff members. I actually had an enlightening meeting on Monday at work. I met with Kumkum, my VSO Programme Officer. It seems her understanding of my role and mine were still very different and drawing up a plan of action for the coming year was proving tough. We did find out why; whilst I was under the impression that I was a ‘Professional Development Advisor’, she had me down as a ‘Programme Development Advisor’. I’m tempted to say, what’s in a word? But one is very human and one is very organisational, so I’m thinking this little linguistic slip matters and very much explains why I’ve been struggling to get anyone to understand what I’m trying to do. Basically I guess, I’m in the wrong placement, but really it’s not that simple. The lines of job definition are blurred
Slice of Rural Life
Some cool holy people/beggers with the obligatory cow.here anyway and actually BNP+ really needs some professional development work done so it looks like all is well now and everyone is keen for me to get on with the work I was originally hoping to do. My role will then encompass some training, some work around staff retention, developing a mentoring scheme, promoting volunteering, creating a newsletter and writing a Disability policy - hopefully this will keep me busy, depends on how engaged the rest of the staff are in these projects. Unfortunately, one of my biggest challenges at the moment is about ways of working in the office. I never got an induction into my work or the office and so I still have no idea where things are, who does what, what is a ‘normal’ expectation and so forth. Yes, I can ask, but no body else seems to know either! So these are the mundane issues of each day which are then punctuated by relentless agenda-less and ultimately fruitless meetings in Bengali and of course numerous rounds of char (tea) or 7UP and the odd bowl of sweet curd.
The office we’re in is tiny and very under-resourced. I work in an office which
Rosalyn & Assorted Other VSOs
This was Rose teaching us all how to make Sushi. It went surprisingly well, though we lacked the Pickled Ginger and Wasabi. is 2.5m x 4m and often has 6 of us working with 1 computer and two printers (neither of which ever has ink). We also only have 5 chairs, 2 of which (including the one I end up using) are like plastic patio furniture, so as you can imagine, this really isn’t great for my under-padded backside, not to mention my back. The building we’re in has a roof terrace (please don’t imagine grand!) and so I’m often seen up there having a stretch, much to the amusement of half of TPB.
So when finally people tire of their ‘exhausting’ days, usually surprisingly late, we finally get to head off. I tried leaving dead on six for a couple of days, but struggled to avoid the daggers people threw at me. Having left work, the daily adventure to seek out food begins. There-in lies a whole new can of worms - not literally I’m pleased to say. It’s true that sometimes I go round to Rosalyn’s and cook at hers, but really it’s not fair to invade her space every evening, especially as we also spend every day together. So on the days in between I have one of
Kolkata's Pride and Joy
This is the much celebrated Victoria Memorial Building in the City Centre. It is actually pretty amazing. the following enticing selection; soggy bread sandwiches, random snacks I find, the Chinese for a treat or more often than not, the grim little restaurant over the road from the office that I mentioned in my last blog; really pretty horrible. I’m afraid to say that I am losing weight, this is mostly down to having been really very sick last weekend (projectile from both ends), but trying to regain that weight without a means to cook for myself is proving tough. TPB isn’t actually a great place to buy food at the best of times. It does an amazing selection of fruit and veg (and probably of dead things if you were so inclined), but dairy, nuts and soya are all in stark supply. I’m going to plan in trips to Kolkata on a weekly basis to stock up, but really by the time I’ve got there after work, I have about 30 minutes to shop before shops close and I have to run to get the last tube home! Such is the joy of my evenings. Rosalyn and I are actually enjoying having someone else to do stuff with, so we do do things together relatively often. We have a Bollywood cinema about 20 mins away so that’s on the list for a regular night out, but mostly we cook, eat, sit and chat - seems to work ok at the moment. To be fair, cooking is such a mission here that it can take all evening; sifting rice, grinding spices and indeed working out what you actually do with some of the veg - there are several I’ve never seen before. One of my plans for evening activities is to make the most of the British High Commission. Ok, yes it’s a little odd and other worldly, but it’s also a source of English-speaking people, free food and a smiley night out in comfortable surroundings - who can blame me!
Unsurprisingly, most of my fun happens at the weekends. Happily, the huge number of public holidays in Bengal means that we often have long weekends (Today I completed my first full working week since I arrived!). Last week I went with Rosalyn for four days to Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa State. It’s about 7 hours south along the coast on the train. The main reason why we went there is that it’s the centre of VSO-World in India, by that I mean that 8 of the 26 VSOs in India at the moment live there and numerous of the others live in the rural areas around. It’s also a really easy place to live, very peaceful, yet still a city with all the amenities - I have Bhuba-envy! And I’m not alone in that. We had a gorgeous time meeting everyone and it was lovely to see some very different tourist attractions. Orissa is quite a tribal area and so has some unique cultural icons. Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side, it hit a peak while we were there of 45 degrees C, the 25 degrees you’re having in England sounds positively cooling to me but I bet its lovely. This heat wave also coincided with me getting ill which is less than ideal. I got a bug from a dodgy Biryani at the train station (sounds like a night out in Birmingham! - no offense Bob) and ended up in a very messy state, it was pretty painful actually, not least because I had a high fever which doesn’t mix too well with humidity, not to mention the fact that 6 of us were sharing the toilet to which I needed unlimited access. Anyway, I ended up sleeping outside on the balcony as it was the only place I could settle and began to get better the next day so I was very lucky. It did mean that I missed out on going to Puri though which is a bit gutting. Puri is a small beach town not too far from Bhuba and is apparently stunning - such is life. I’ll definitely be back down that way some time soon.
This weekend I had my first taste of touristiness in Kolkata. To be honest, Kolkata is never going to win any prizes as a tourist hot-spot, but there are some treats. Also this weekend I hit the floor of my patience and went out to buy myself some furniture. I’ve been holding on for BNP+ or VSO to do it as I am entitled to have it bought for me, but there are limits to how long I’ll wait. I don’t have the money, but was so desperate to start getting my flat looking nice. I ended up spending half a month’s salary on a wardrobe and nearly a whole month’s salary on a fridge - but hey, it made me happy! I also bought a chair hammock which is up in my lounge and I completely love it! I’m hoping I’ll get at least some of the money reimbursed at some point. Sadly, the gas-connection and cooker remains the main issue of my world. The problem is not an obvious one. To say the gas industry here is regulated, would be a mammoth understatement. Every single gas cylinder in Bengal has its own identification papers that prove registration with the government. Each is then assigned a location and can not be moved; you move house, you have to apply for a new connection. Then, additionally, the government being communist, isn’t interested in getting as many people to sign up and pay their money as possible, rather it prefers to limit usage to ensure people don’t over indulge. Thus, there are quotas on the number of connections permitted; it is these quotas that I am falling outside of and can do nothing about. In theory there may be new connections released next month, but there are no guarantees. In the meantime, I’m without cooking facilities and just have to accept it. Are you following me? I’m not actually sure I am! Living in West Bengal is a real lesson in not only patience, but also resilience.
So many of you have been gorgeous enough to offer to send me stuff, which is lovely. Unfortunately, most of the things I’d love are perishables and so not really a goer, but if anyone fancies posting me a postcard or two, that would be fantastic. Not necessarily scenic you understand, just any random interesting images you happen to find, those free postcards you get at cinemas are perfect; statements, photos, paintings, funky adverts, whatever. I have loads of holes in my walls so I thought I’d plaster them over with postcards. Cheers in advance.
Right, I reckon I’ll head off now, I was hoping to attach loads of photos of my neighbourhood and my office to this blog, but I’m just too embarrassed to whip out a camera at an opportune moment. I get stared at and frowned upon continually anyway, living up to their sahib(foreigner)-norms is not in my plan. I’ll see what I can do in future. By the way, the hideous happenings across South Asia are completely not affecting us in Kolkata - no reason why they should, just thought I’d put some minds at rest. Actually of course the global rice shortage is hugely affecting the poor people in the area and it looks like we’ll be having a mass influx of Bangladeshis any time soon as they suffer even greater starvation, so we are of course affected, but I was really referring to the Cyclone and Earthquake. Enjoy your gorgeous weather… and if anyone goes for a picnic; please take a place-setting for me, eat haloumi & houmous, and then take pictures and tell me all about it. It’ll be like food porn!!!
Love you lots. Me. xxx
Ps. My phone issue is also on-going, so please dont be trying to send messages - I'll keep you posted!
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Delhi 
West Bengal 
paul cooke
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Ahhhh!
I wish I was there to meet you for brekkie! Sounds like your having a wicked time! Miss you matey. I will write soon (PROMISE, I HOPE!) Life is sooooo busy, I dont seem to get a moment to do anything! Its all work, work, work, work, selling stuff on ebay and car boot sales, to raise money, money, money for our adventure!! Paulo xxx (Andy sends his love to you!)