So I'm sitting here in an internet cafe in the middle of Kolkata. For the first time in a long while, the internet seems to be working well and I have plenty of free time to type my hands off.
And I find myself with nothing to say. I have now been in India for almost exactly a month. Most of the picturesque stuff is sort of business as usual to me at this point. Yes yes, goats on a city street, ancient Ambassador taxis, chai wallahs, beautiful temples and history and art. All that is very nice. But I've talked about it.
Nothing terribly exciting on the culinary front, though I have had some lovely home cooking (including eating rather more meat than I should be considering I've been "vegetarian" going on 6 months now). Friends are showing me a very good time. I'm learning a lot more about Indian art, politics, culture, and general outlook than I'm ever able to in remote spots where "George Bush very bad man!" is a high point of conversation.
Kolkata and Pune are interesting Indian cities to me, because both are similarly sort of un-Indian. In Pune I hung out in bars that could easily pass for any Tigerland hangout in Baton Rouge, down to Superbowl coverage on the TV. Tonight in Kolkata I'm seeing a play by Oscar Wilde. This is the "New India". It's much easier for me to move through than Hampi or Agonda were. Streets and addresses are clearly labeled, taxi and rickshaw rides involve metered fares. Everyone wears jeans and converse sneakers. I could easily live in either city. But adventures have been few and far between, and thus there isn't really much to say.
Veni vidi vici?
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I was about to hit the "publish post" button, when the guy out on the sidewalk selling cheapo bamboo flutes just busted out with the theme song from Dhoom. Which is only going to be funny for people who know Bollywood (Dhoom is an Indian equivalent of The Fast And The Furious, complete with rockin' techno/hiphop soundtrack). But it kind of sums up my last week or so.
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2 comments:
I, too, am still alive. Just got back from Utah. I actually learned to ski and am still intact, even at my age.
Sounds like you may be getting a little bored. Where to next?
I'm not bored! I'm just getting used to it, that's all. The big cities really aren't all that different than big cities anywhere else in the world, so I'm not nearly as fascinated as I am right now, being all in awe of Real Live Tibetan Monks walking down the street in Darjeeling.
Also, I've stayed with friends in Pune and Kolkata, and their families were all really overprotective and wouldn't let me have any adventures.
OK, so you survived skiing. But was it fun? Happy belated Mardi Gras, by the way.
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