Calcutta and Pondicherry

Upon arrival in Calcutta, we decided to slow it down and relax a little. While the Western world often holds images of an extremely impoverished city, among Indians, Calcutta is also heralded as a center of arts and culture, thus we made sure to visit the downtown and explore the night life. We spent our days wandering amongst the downtown streets, through colonial tree-laden cemeteries, around the parks, and into a colonial art museum. We were also quite fortunate to have a connection with a man who worked for a micro-financing NGO. We spent a day with him, learning about the current issues facing Calcutta and the West Bengal province in general. We walked with him into a slum community where we were able to meet women who had received micro-finance loans and were able to start small ice-chopping, clothing, and food vending businesses. On our way home, we decided visited the Sisters of Charity, where we were able to walk through a little exhibit detailing the life and vision of Mother Theresa. In the adjoining room, the Sisters were singing their daily prayers, aware that Mother Theresa's flower-covered tomb was sitting right beside them.

We didn't take too many photos while in Calcutta, but we did manage to a get a few photos of our favorite restaurant and a little Sikh boy down the corner from us...


Cheap and best. This Indian slogan, which you hear on every street corner virtually everyday, adequately captures the essence of this restaurant. For under 75 cents, we could get 2 chai teas, 3 aloo parathas (an oily, flaky bread that is a close relative to naan), and a vegetable curry.


The man in the center was our waiter (one of our favorite waiters that we have had this whole year). He kind of reminds me of an elf.


Inside a tiny travel agency that you could barely stand up in, we asked this kid's cousin (a guy about our age) about flights to Thailand, and he answered us with all his opinions on the current state of India and the world. He told us that his young cousin was the embodiment of India's doomed future - all he does is play computer games, he doesn't care about school, and he already has a few girlfriends. Kids these days. He also joked that his computer-savvy little cousin is the world's future terrorist. We thought this joke was funny, mainly because it would be so unfunny to the majority of Americans who don't understand the wide variety of reasons for wearing the many styles of turbans and might take one look at this photo and actually think this little kid could be a terrorist.

Lamenting over the corruption in India, the travel agent told us that the only person people listen to in India is Mahatma Gandhi. Wow, we thought, this relentlessly cynical comedian has a heart. And then he held up a 10 rupee note with Gandhi's face on it. "Get it?" he asked.



In the little French colonial town of Pondicherry lies Sri Aurobindo's ashram. People from all around the world flock to this ashram so that they can learn more about the vision of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, his French co-worker who has developed a serious following of her own. Sri Aurobindo's work is fairly complex and a few of the people we met at the ashram have decided to dedicate their lives to understanding his philosophies. The Mother is the creative inspiration and founder of Auroville, an experimental town that seeks to have people of all countries come together and live in progressive harmony while researching practical and innovative ways to spread peace. Auroville, at its essence, is a community of people seeking human unity.

The guesthouse we stayed at belonged to the ashram and so photos and sayings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother were everywhere: in the bathrooms, the cafeteria, throughout the garden, on the walls of each individual room, directly above every single bed . . . We were lucky enough to have this photo staring down at us all night.



The Matrimandir. This is Auroville's pride and joy and is considered to be a symbol of the Divine. The Matrimandir itself is situated within 12 lotus shaped gardens, an ampitheatre, and an awe-inspiring banyan tree. Inside the Matrimandir lies a 70 cm crystal ball (apparently one of the largest in the world) with a single ray of sunshine concentrating at its center. This crystal ball, according to the Mother, is supposed to be a perfect symbol of human realization. We, unfortunately, were not able to go inside.


On our ride back from Auroville, we were invited to visit our rickshaw driver's home. The house was an impossibly tiny single room for a family of four to eat, sleep, and live in. The driver ran out to buy milk and then made us creamy, sweet tea on the small kerosene stove that sat on the floor in the corner of the room that functioned as a kitchen. The driver's wife, who works from her home creating flower garlands, gifted us with her personal creations.