Oh dear...long time since I wrote and so a LOT to tell you all! The last two weeks have been mentally busy and as I sit here I am having a bit of a blank as to where to start from, and like the numpty I am, I have left my journal at home so will just have to go from memory and hope I don't forget anything too major! Incidentally, 'home' for last night and tonight is an absolutely beautiful Tibetan Monastery in Bodhgaya, the ultimate Buddish pilgrimage site in India where Lord Siddharta became enlightened! But I cannot write about that right now...way too much to say about my last two weeks in Kolkata first!
So, where did I leave you? I think it was at the end of my all over the place volunteering week before my weekend off. I guess I'll start by going over my last work week at BWC and then move on to the play stuff after that...after all the whole point of me going to Kolkata was to volunteer!
In the end I managed mostly to avoid the tug of war competition with me as the prize, by just going to MP school as if that had been mutually agreed. I mean, it had earlier on in my month, but I just ignored the fact that there was any confusion and stayed put! I'm glad I did because it was a very busy week. I had my normal lessons as usual which were just getting better and better from my point of view as I was really getting to know the kids and having a lot of fun with them - they seem to just love it when you make a fool out of yourself for their benefit so the actions to my songs got progressively sillier and sillier as time went by! Then in the afternoons I spent my time writing down all the songs I had taught and teaching them to Kajal, the English teacher who hopefully will now continue my musical legacy! I also spent a lot of time with her working on her pronounciation. We were trying to do it all though songs but, being older, she can't pick things up as easily as the kids (obviously), so in the end we went back to basics and I concentrated on teaching her vowel and consonant sounds, so that at least when she is reading something out loud she knows what sort of sounds she should be making. She was such a sweet woman and so intent on getting it right and it was very entertaining when she would make a mistake; she would start hitting her head and babbling angrily at herself in Bengali - we had a good laugh together!
Before I knew it it was coming up to my last day at BWC. I decided I should face the music and stop avoiding Lovelock, and also I wanted to say goodbye to everyone there, so I did that last Friday afternoon. They were slightly cross with me when I arrived, but not because I hadn't been there, but because I hadn't told them I was coming that day and not Saturday as they had wanted to prepare something for me. In a way I'm glad that I didn't; everyone had already gone to enough trouble for me, and so in the end we just had a chocolate ice-cream and a chat. It was nice, really nice actually, because they are lovely ladies, and they were so kind to me when I first arrived. It was only once I tried to leave them that they became a little scary! On Saturday then it was my last day, and also the school's last day before Durga Puja (more on that later!). I had lessons as normal but made them very light-hearted because the kids were so excited to be going on holiday and would not have been able to concentrate on anything difficult! Once the kids had gone home all the teachers stayed behind to give me a farewell lunch. Arpita (the headmistress) had asked me what food I would like and I had said traditional Bengali food, and so every teacher prepared a traditional dish that they eat at home. It. Was. Amazing. The food was flippin' fantastic - so delicious and varied - the only trouble was that there was so much of it, and because each dish was prepared by different people, there was no way I could leave any! I honestly don't think I have every been so full in my life...until they brought out dessert! I thought that it would be ok though as I could go home and sleep off my enormous belly, but it was at that moment that Kajal decided that she wanted to record me playing some of the songs that I had taught on a casette player, so that she could use them to learn from and for the kids to sing along to. It would have been fine but it was one of the hottest days we had had, I was ridiculously full and tired, and for the sound quality to be any good at all we had to go to the top floor of the building and turn off all the fans. After playing All Things Bright and Beautiful 7 times (she wasn't happy with the sound quality) I honestly thought I was going to faint and so I had to tell her that I couldn't do any more. I felt bad, but really and truly could not have sat in that room for another minute! We went back downstairs and they presented me with a small gift and I said my goodbyes.
I am sad to be leaving there. Everyone was so lovely to me and really looked after me. Plus, I like to think that the kids enjoyed my lessons and hopefully they learnt something from me. Well, I know they learnt something - about 30 songs - but I hope they also learnt something useful! I hope as well that now my placement there has gone so well that Inspire will send other volunteers there; the schools really need it and were so receptive to everything that I taught them; makes for a wonderful atmosphere to volunteer in!
So...on to the play! Well, first culture, then play! The Sunday after I wrote last I had a very cultural morning. I had been given free tickets to a Hindi classical music concert in the Birla Mandir auditorium that started at 10am. I had been supposed to go with Sophie (can't remember if I have written about her yet, but in case not she is another volunteer from Inspire who is based in Kolkata until December) but the night before she decided to have a lie-in instead; fair enough! I was thinking about leaving it but am trying to be a yes person this year so figured that staying in bed was not doing things with the right attitude! I am so glad I didn't. Was a bit of a mission to get there because it was monsooning like mad, and the auto I had taken broke down in the middle of the road. So by the time I arrived I was soaked through and somewhat disgruntled. When I got inside, the AC was turned up so high that I was freezing...first time I had been cold in Kolkata and I didn't like it at all! All in all I was not feeling full of the joys of life. That is, until it started. The first half was an eleven year old boy playing tabla, and I honestly could not believe the sounds he was making. His sense of rhythm was so mature, and with two (pretty small) hands, he made it sound as if a whole orchestra of tabla players were joining him! The second half was his father playing sitar with one of his friends on the tabla. This, too, was phenomenal. He started off with a very melodious piece that was threatening to put me to sleep (by this point I was dry and enjoying the AC), but soon he and the tabla player were going mad on their instruments, making some very very funky rhythms and clearly loving every second of it! The concert went on for three hours altogether, but it didn't feel that long at all; I think I must have been hypnotised by the music or something!
I had another culture-filled day on the Tuesday after that Sunday. It was a pre-puja holiday from school and while everyone else was staying in bed, I decided to make the most of a day off. To be fair, I made this monumental decision because on the previous Saturday I had literally spent the entire day in bed recovering from Friday night's antics, so I had to make it up somehow! I decided to head to Kumartuli, a district in North Kolkata famous for its idol-makers. I took Sophie and Lauren (another volunteer) with me and we had a really good time. Basically all we did was wander round, but we got to see the whole process of the idols being made at various stalls and a LOT of idols. I think there must have been well over a thousand there altogether, all of which would end up in pandals across the city, and eventually back in the river. The start life as straw and wood frames, before a whole load of clay from the Hooghly river (which is an extension of the Ganges) is moulded on to their frame. Once the shape is made they are painted and decorated with such care and precision, and each one is its own little (or not so little) work of art. Different sculpters are famous for different styles; some make very traditional idols which have been around for centuries, but some make more contemporary versions in modern styles. One thing they all have in common though is that they are absolutely stunning and show months of dedicated craftmanship. Amusingly, we actually ended up on TV that day. We didn't even notice the camera, but one of Sophie's colleagues saw us on the news that night...I imagine the headline must have been something like 'White girls in Kumartuli'...or something of that nature!
Once I got back from Kumartuli, I told one of my friends here that I had been, and once he knew I was interested he promised, in a very mysterious way, that he would show me something I would like. Intrigued I asked when, and he responded that he would pick me up that evening. I had absolutely no idea what to expect, but he turned up as arranged with a few other friends and off we went. He drove us to a district nearish to where I was staying that is like a mini Kumartuli and we went over to where a big group of men were loading one of the idols on to a truck. I'll go into this in more detail in a minute, but basically every pandal has 5 idols and the biggest is always Durga, and that's the one they were loading. When I say biggest, this idol was about 9 feet tall and made of solid clay...it's very big and very heavy, so to see them loading it on to the truck was spectacle enough itself! But Ayan had more planned. He explained that this idol was going to one of his friend's pandals and that we would be going with it as it's a special journey. He turned to get in to the car and when I followed he looked at me with a very mischevious grin and told me that, no, I would be going with it, in the truck! So, up I clambered, and clung on for dear life as this rickety old truck careered it's way across the city, with a 9 foot Durga idol leaning over me! The whole way somebody would shout 'Victory to Godess Durga' and we would have to respond 'VICTORY', although in Bengali, and if we saw any other idols doing a similar journey, everyone went mad, yelling and screaming and generally just making noise! It was so exhilarating, and a really good way to see the city...kind of like an open-top bus tour by night, with added drama!
Once school was finished, my time basically became a heady mixture of culture and play; Durga Puja hit Kolkata and it hit it hard! Everyone had told me that the city would go mad for this festival, but I had no idea just how crazy it would be! I guess I should tell you a bit about the meaning of the festival before telling about the fun side.
Ok so, I'll start with the reason Kolkata is called that (it'll make sense soon). Basically, Lord Shiva was married to Kali, goddess of destruction. One day he came across a dead incarnation of his wife and was so angry he decided to destroy the world. When Vishnu stepped in to stop him, the cadaver was dismembered in to many pieces and flung all over India. One of Kali's toes landed in Kolkata, at the Kalighat Temple, and thus Kolkata was made. Durga, the goddess who is celebrated in Durga Puja, is another incarnation of Kali; they are basically both godesses of power, but whereas Kali is destructive, Durga is not. So, Durga Puja is celebrated all over India, but it is such a big deal in Kolkata because of the city's affinity with Kali. The reason for the festival is that once Durga (or Kali) married Lord Shiva, she had to go and live with him in his house in heaven, thus leaving her father's house on earth. Once a year, she is allowed to come back to earth to visit her father's house and she brings her children with her. These are Ganesh (elephant god), Lakshmi (goddess of wealth), the goddess of education and the god of craftmansip. In each pandal then, there is one of each of these idols, each with their own specific animal, and a picture of Shiva so that she does not forget him while she is away. Quite often there is also a Shiva lingam, which always made me giggle! The festival is celebrating her coming to earth, and her victory over evil, for on her journey she encounters the Hindi version of Satan and kills him.
I mentioned before about the pandals - temporary temples made of bamboo and then decorated - well, by the time the festival started, some of these looked like they had been there for centuries. They are beautiful! I saw one that was like a Rajasthani palace, one like a Roman temple, one like something from Leh, one that had makeshift mountains around it...and the list goes on! The whole point of the festival is to travel from pandal to pandal (and there are hundreds and hundreds across the city) to give puja (or prayers) to the idols. Once a day there is a special puja, which is led by a holy man singing mantras to the idols, with drums playing, incense burning and another holy man giving offerings to the gods. The reason the city goes so mad, is that everyone is out and seeing these pandals, and so the entire city's population, which is about 80 million people, plus guests who visit specifically for the puja, are out on the streets all day and all night. In fact, it's more common for people to be out at night as it's cooler, and so often groups will arrange to meet at midnight and go from there. One night the mothers of the friends I have made were out and they met at 3am, and ended up getting food at the same street vendor as us at 7am...very bizarre! The sheer mass of people means that roads become impassable very quickly, and even the night before it started it took us 2 hours to get back from New Alipore, a journey that should have taken 20 minutes! Everyone buys new clothes for the festival and it is amazing to see all these Bengalis dressed up in their finest clothes, and all those who wouldn't usually wear Indian dress (like the people I was spending time with), wear salwar kameez or sarees (if they are women) or kurta pajamas (if they are men). All over the city street food vendors spring up and in pretty much every park a small fairground is built; I really can't think of a British equivalent!
My puja time was spent doing a fair bit of pandal hopping, both on foot and in the car, with friends. We would generally meet at about 7/8pm, get some fod, have a few drinks and then head out. We would see pandals, eat lots of street food (I have eaten very well the last few days!) wander around, take in the atmosphere and then get way too hot, get back into the AC car and drive to another area. The night would go on like that, with occasional stops at someone's house for a few more drinks! It doesn't sound like much, but I don't think I can really describe it any better, it's just the sheer number of people everywhere, out to worship their goddess that is so overwhelming. Unlike many western festivals, this one has really retained its spiritual roots. You can tell that people are genuinely worshipping from their hearts, and they feel real love and affection for their goddess; it's very moving. They call her 'ma' as in mother, and treat her in this way, with love and respect. The third day is the biggest day because on that day you go to give Anjli...special worship. I did this at one of my local pandals (there were three within a 3 minute radius from my house), and it consisted of being blessed with holy water, and then praying while the holy man sang to the idols, and then periodically throwing flowers at them. I actually really enjoyed it; there's something about being surrounded by people who are truly worshipping and getting involved in it. I also managed to see a few pujas and it was absolutely intoxicating to see the drummers - they are surely in some sort of trance or something and definitely dance to the beat of their own drums!
I am beyond glad that I saw Kolkata during pujas. Although the city is so crowded and impossible to navigate, and although now I am beyond tired despite sleeping all afternoon yesterday and going to bed at 8pm, and although a lack of sleep/glut of over-indulgence have left me with the mother of all colds, it was utterly fantastic, and I wouldn't change it for anything! I loved Kolkata, and loved it even more during the festival - I can't even express how sad I was to leave, but leave I had to. I managed to hold it together saying goodbye to all the friends I had made, and to Minu and Goran-go, but as soon as I got into my taxi to the station I was a balling mess! I never thought that after one month in a place you could feel so at home, but I think Kolkata is like that. It is known as the city with a soul, and in my experience that is completely true. I really hope that one day I can go back and visit; I can't cope with the thought of never being there again! But, such is life, and I did come away to go travelling after all, not to live in Kolkata for a year! So here I am in Bodhgaya, doing exactly that, and tomorrow morning I leave for Varanasi, and then I am well into my India trip! Very exciting, although pretty scary as well!
I won't write about Bodhgaya now because I have already been here 2 hours and want to see some more temples today; there must be at least 30 to have a look round! Plus, I plan to be enlightened before I leave tomorrow and seeing as it took Siddharta over 6 years I guess I had better get a move on!
Hope that everyone is really well there and you are all as happy as I am (although I really hope you don't have a cold like this one!)...will try to write again soon I promise, but not sure when really!
Lots and lots of love,
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
So, where did I leave you? I think it was at the end of my all over the place volunteering week before my weekend off. I guess I'll start by going over my last work week at BWC and then move on to the play stuff after that...after all the whole point of me going to Kolkata was to volunteer!
In the end I managed mostly to avoid the tug of war competition with me as the prize, by just going to MP school as if that had been mutually agreed. I mean, it had earlier on in my month, but I just ignored the fact that there was any confusion and stayed put! I'm glad I did because it was a very busy week. I had my normal lessons as usual which were just getting better and better from my point of view as I was really getting to know the kids and having a lot of fun with them - they seem to just love it when you make a fool out of yourself for their benefit so the actions to my songs got progressively sillier and sillier as time went by! Then in the afternoons I spent my time writing down all the songs I had taught and teaching them to Kajal, the English teacher who hopefully will now continue my musical legacy! I also spent a lot of time with her working on her pronounciation. We were trying to do it all though songs but, being older, she can't pick things up as easily as the kids (obviously), so in the end we went back to basics and I concentrated on teaching her vowel and consonant sounds, so that at least when she is reading something out loud she knows what sort of sounds she should be making. She was such a sweet woman and so intent on getting it right and it was very entertaining when she would make a mistake; she would start hitting her head and babbling angrily at herself in Bengali - we had a good laugh together!
Before I knew it it was coming up to my last day at BWC. I decided I should face the music and stop avoiding Lovelock, and also I wanted to say goodbye to everyone there, so I did that last Friday afternoon. They were slightly cross with me when I arrived, but not because I hadn't been there, but because I hadn't told them I was coming that day and not Saturday as they had wanted to prepare something for me. In a way I'm glad that I didn't; everyone had already gone to enough trouble for me, and so in the end we just had a chocolate ice-cream and a chat. It was nice, really nice actually, because they are lovely ladies, and they were so kind to me when I first arrived. It was only once I tried to leave them that they became a little scary! On Saturday then it was my last day, and also the school's last day before Durga Puja (more on that later!). I had lessons as normal but made them very light-hearted because the kids were so excited to be going on holiday and would not have been able to concentrate on anything difficult! Once the kids had gone home all the teachers stayed behind to give me a farewell lunch. Arpita (the headmistress) had asked me what food I would like and I had said traditional Bengali food, and so every teacher prepared a traditional dish that they eat at home. It. Was. Amazing. The food was flippin' fantastic - so delicious and varied - the only trouble was that there was so much of it, and because each dish was prepared by different people, there was no way I could leave any! I honestly don't think I have every been so full in my life...until they brought out dessert! I thought that it would be ok though as I could go home and sleep off my enormous belly, but it was at that moment that Kajal decided that she wanted to record me playing some of the songs that I had taught on a casette player, so that she could use them to learn from and for the kids to sing along to. It would have been fine but it was one of the hottest days we had had, I was ridiculously full and tired, and for the sound quality to be any good at all we had to go to the top floor of the building and turn off all the fans. After playing All Things Bright and Beautiful 7 times (she wasn't happy with the sound quality) I honestly thought I was going to faint and so I had to tell her that I couldn't do any more. I felt bad, but really and truly could not have sat in that room for another minute! We went back downstairs and they presented me with a small gift and I said my goodbyes.
I am sad to be leaving there. Everyone was so lovely to me and really looked after me. Plus, I like to think that the kids enjoyed my lessons and hopefully they learnt something from me. Well, I know they learnt something - about 30 songs - but I hope they also learnt something useful! I hope as well that now my placement there has gone so well that Inspire will send other volunteers there; the schools really need it and were so receptive to everything that I taught them; makes for a wonderful atmosphere to volunteer in!
So...on to the play! Well, first culture, then play! The Sunday after I wrote last I had a very cultural morning. I had been given free tickets to a Hindi classical music concert in the Birla Mandir auditorium that started at 10am. I had been supposed to go with Sophie (can't remember if I have written about her yet, but in case not she is another volunteer from Inspire who is based in Kolkata until December) but the night before she decided to have a lie-in instead; fair enough! I was thinking about leaving it but am trying to be a yes person this year so figured that staying in bed was not doing things with the right attitude! I am so glad I didn't. Was a bit of a mission to get there because it was monsooning like mad, and the auto I had taken broke down in the middle of the road. So by the time I arrived I was soaked through and somewhat disgruntled. When I got inside, the AC was turned up so high that I was freezing...first time I had been cold in Kolkata and I didn't like it at all! All in all I was not feeling full of the joys of life. That is, until it started. The first half was an eleven year old boy playing tabla, and I honestly could not believe the sounds he was making. His sense of rhythm was so mature, and with two (pretty small) hands, he made it sound as if a whole orchestra of tabla players were joining him! The second half was his father playing sitar with one of his friends on the tabla. This, too, was phenomenal. He started off with a very melodious piece that was threatening to put me to sleep (by this point I was dry and enjoying the AC), but soon he and the tabla player were going mad on their instruments, making some very very funky rhythms and clearly loving every second of it! The concert went on for three hours altogether, but it didn't feel that long at all; I think I must have been hypnotised by the music or something!
I had another culture-filled day on the Tuesday after that Sunday. It was a pre-puja holiday from school and while everyone else was staying in bed, I decided to make the most of a day off. To be fair, I made this monumental decision because on the previous Saturday I had literally spent the entire day in bed recovering from Friday night's antics, so I had to make it up somehow! I decided to head to Kumartuli, a district in North Kolkata famous for its idol-makers. I took Sophie and Lauren (another volunteer) with me and we had a really good time. Basically all we did was wander round, but we got to see the whole process of the idols being made at various stalls and a LOT of idols. I think there must have been well over a thousand there altogether, all of which would end up in pandals across the city, and eventually back in the river. The start life as straw and wood frames, before a whole load of clay from the Hooghly river (which is an extension of the Ganges) is moulded on to their frame. Once the shape is made they are painted and decorated with such care and precision, and each one is its own little (or not so little) work of art. Different sculpters are famous for different styles; some make very traditional idols which have been around for centuries, but some make more contemporary versions in modern styles. One thing they all have in common though is that they are absolutely stunning and show months of dedicated craftmanship. Amusingly, we actually ended up on TV that day. We didn't even notice the camera, but one of Sophie's colleagues saw us on the news that night...I imagine the headline must have been something like 'White girls in Kumartuli'...or something of that nature!
Once I got back from Kumartuli, I told one of my friends here that I had been, and once he knew I was interested he promised, in a very mysterious way, that he would show me something I would like. Intrigued I asked when, and he responded that he would pick me up that evening. I had absolutely no idea what to expect, but he turned up as arranged with a few other friends and off we went. He drove us to a district nearish to where I was staying that is like a mini Kumartuli and we went over to where a big group of men were loading one of the idols on to a truck. I'll go into this in more detail in a minute, but basically every pandal has 5 idols and the biggest is always Durga, and that's the one they were loading. When I say biggest, this idol was about 9 feet tall and made of solid clay...it's very big and very heavy, so to see them loading it on to the truck was spectacle enough itself! But Ayan had more planned. He explained that this idol was going to one of his friend's pandals and that we would be going with it as it's a special journey. He turned to get in to the car and when I followed he looked at me with a very mischevious grin and told me that, no, I would be going with it, in the truck! So, up I clambered, and clung on for dear life as this rickety old truck careered it's way across the city, with a 9 foot Durga idol leaning over me! The whole way somebody would shout 'Victory to Godess Durga' and we would have to respond 'VICTORY', although in Bengali, and if we saw any other idols doing a similar journey, everyone went mad, yelling and screaming and generally just making noise! It was so exhilarating, and a really good way to see the city...kind of like an open-top bus tour by night, with added drama!
Once school was finished, my time basically became a heady mixture of culture and play; Durga Puja hit Kolkata and it hit it hard! Everyone had told me that the city would go mad for this festival, but I had no idea just how crazy it would be! I guess I should tell you a bit about the meaning of the festival before telling about the fun side.
Ok so, I'll start with the reason Kolkata is called that (it'll make sense soon). Basically, Lord Shiva was married to Kali, goddess of destruction. One day he came across a dead incarnation of his wife and was so angry he decided to destroy the world. When Vishnu stepped in to stop him, the cadaver was dismembered in to many pieces and flung all over India. One of Kali's toes landed in Kolkata, at the Kalighat Temple, and thus Kolkata was made. Durga, the goddess who is celebrated in Durga Puja, is another incarnation of Kali; they are basically both godesses of power, but whereas Kali is destructive, Durga is not. So, Durga Puja is celebrated all over India, but it is such a big deal in Kolkata because of the city's affinity with Kali. The reason for the festival is that once Durga (or Kali) married Lord Shiva, she had to go and live with him in his house in heaven, thus leaving her father's house on earth. Once a year, she is allowed to come back to earth to visit her father's house and she brings her children with her. These are Ganesh (elephant god), Lakshmi (goddess of wealth), the goddess of education and the god of craftmansip. In each pandal then, there is one of each of these idols, each with their own specific animal, and a picture of Shiva so that she does not forget him while she is away. Quite often there is also a Shiva lingam, which always made me giggle! The festival is celebrating her coming to earth, and her victory over evil, for on her journey she encounters the Hindi version of Satan and kills him.
I mentioned before about the pandals - temporary temples made of bamboo and then decorated - well, by the time the festival started, some of these looked like they had been there for centuries. They are beautiful! I saw one that was like a Rajasthani palace, one like a Roman temple, one like something from Leh, one that had makeshift mountains around it...and the list goes on! The whole point of the festival is to travel from pandal to pandal (and there are hundreds and hundreds across the city) to give puja (or prayers) to the idols. Once a day there is a special puja, which is led by a holy man singing mantras to the idols, with drums playing, incense burning and another holy man giving offerings to the gods. The reason the city goes so mad, is that everyone is out and seeing these pandals, and so the entire city's population, which is about 80 million people, plus guests who visit specifically for the puja, are out on the streets all day and all night. In fact, it's more common for people to be out at night as it's cooler, and so often groups will arrange to meet at midnight and go from there. One night the mothers of the friends I have made were out and they met at 3am, and ended up getting food at the same street vendor as us at 7am...very bizarre! The sheer mass of people means that roads become impassable very quickly, and even the night before it started it took us 2 hours to get back from New Alipore, a journey that should have taken 20 minutes! Everyone buys new clothes for the festival and it is amazing to see all these Bengalis dressed up in their finest clothes, and all those who wouldn't usually wear Indian dress (like the people I was spending time with), wear salwar kameez or sarees (if they are women) or kurta pajamas (if they are men). All over the city street food vendors spring up and in pretty much every park a small fairground is built; I really can't think of a British equivalent!
My puja time was spent doing a fair bit of pandal hopping, both on foot and in the car, with friends. We would generally meet at about 7/8pm, get some fod, have a few drinks and then head out. We would see pandals, eat lots of street food (I have eaten very well the last few days!) wander around, take in the atmosphere and then get way too hot, get back into the AC car and drive to another area. The night would go on like that, with occasional stops at someone's house for a few more drinks! It doesn't sound like much, but I don't think I can really describe it any better, it's just the sheer number of people everywhere, out to worship their goddess that is so overwhelming. Unlike many western festivals, this one has really retained its spiritual roots. You can tell that people are genuinely worshipping from their hearts, and they feel real love and affection for their goddess; it's very moving. They call her 'ma' as in mother, and treat her in this way, with love and respect. The third day is the biggest day because on that day you go to give Anjli...special worship. I did this at one of my local pandals (there were three within a 3 minute radius from my house), and it consisted of being blessed with holy water, and then praying while the holy man sang to the idols, and then periodically throwing flowers at them. I actually really enjoyed it; there's something about being surrounded by people who are truly worshipping and getting involved in it. I also managed to see a few pujas and it was absolutely intoxicating to see the drummers - they are surely in some sort of trance or something and definitely dance to the beat of their own drums!
I am beyond glad that I saw Kolkata during pujas. Although the city is so crowded and impossible to navigate, and although now I am beyond tired despite sleeping all afternoon yesterday and going to bed at 8pm, and although a lack of sleep/glut of over-indulgence have left me with the mother of all colds, it was utterly fantastic, and I wouldn't change it for anything! I loved Kolkata, and loved it even more during the festival - I can't even express how sad I was to leave, but leave I had to. I managed to hold it together saying goodbye to all the friends I had made, and to Minu and Goran-go, but as soon as I got into my taxi to the station I was a balling mess! I never thought that after one month in a place you could feel so at home, but I think Kolkata is like that. It is known as the city with a soul, and in my experience that is completely true. I really hope that one day I can go back and visit; I can't cope with the thought of never being there again! But, such is life, and I did come away to go travelling after all, not to live in Kolkata for a year! So here I am in Bodhgaya, doing exactly that, and tomorrow morning I leave for Varanasi, and then I am well into my India trip! Very exciting, although pretty scary as well!
I won't write about Bodhgaya now because I have already been here 2 hours and want to see some more temples today; there must be at least 30 to have a look round! Plus, I plan to be enlightened before I leave tomorrow and seeing as it took Siddharta over 6 years I guess I had better get a move on!
Hope that everyone is really well there and you are all as happy as I am (although I really hope you don't have a cold like this one!)...will try to write again soon I promise, but not sure when really!
Lots and lots of love,
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