Blogs from Kolkata, West Bengal, India, Asia - page 12

Kolkata, my love, is a woman. She is loud, and she loves to dance. She is beautiful, seductive and mysterious. She is very intelligent and opinionated, and she is not shy to share her thoughts and feelings. Her spirituality exists with and strengthens her intellect. She is an excellent cook. She can be very demanding, and yet she is generous. You must listen to her carefully. If you respect her, she will overlook your faults and accept you for who you are. She is impossible to understand. She is always changing, but she always stays the same. Her faults are easy to recognize, but if you love her, easy to forgive. She drains my energy. She makes me mad. Even when we are far apart, she is near to my heart. If I came to her ... read more

In India as in life, its important to have a plan but not too much of a plan; to know where you are intending to go, but not with too much certitude; to set out on your own with confidence, but to be very open to company along the way; and to rely on yourself, but be open to trusting others. And so, one often finds oneself thrust into the path of a new friendship that is totally random and unexpected. And so often the unexpected includes meeting someone who totally surprises you in terms of the extent they will go to make you welcome and comfortable. I was in Kolkata for 4 days of leisure. I had not been to this amazing city for 30 years. But my memory of the first time I came ... read more

I've done fairly well in keeping my expenses low. However, I can do better! Here is a daily list of the money I have spend in India: Tuesday, June 29 482 rupees The most expensive item was the taxi from the airport to Sudder street (304 after a small tip). Wednesday, June 30 307 rupees Including 56rs for a meal in a restaurant. Thursday, July 1 242 rupees I spent 101rs on something, but I cannot remember what. Friday, July 2 435 rupees Ben and I alternated when paying for our room, so 300rs was the biggest expense. Saturday, July 3 251 rupees Sunday, July 4 446 rupees Monday, July 5 445 rupees Tuesday, July 6 117 rupees Nothing but street food, water, a bus, and the internet for an hour. Total- 2,725 rupees. Average of ... read more

All packed ready and waiting by the front door! Only 4 days untill we put our feet down in Kolkata! Taking part in a charity run this weekend, for the orphange we will be helping at, for the first 3 weeks in Kolkata ... read more

Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna. This path of the science of self realization is quite difficult from a finite's perspective. My understanding of the process is that first we must meditate on and realize our own good and bad qualities through self examination and introspection. I feel that through self examination we come to realize our many character defects, such as--i'll speak for myself here--narcissism, conceit, self-centeredness, self-indulgent, self-serving, miserly and general inconsiderate, egocentric qualities. I can't be ALL bad, can I? No! I must have some worth in the positive. I mean, all those "character defects" are good for ME, but when you consider that I have to deal with others than you can see that some problem may arise for me if i am acting fully in regards to my own benefit. Again, I MUST ... read more