31 July: part one (Kolkata bus tour and idol makers of Kumartuli)

31 July: notes taken during on-bus lecture...soemwhat disjointed but lots of interesting information about the city of Kolkata, clay idols and...well, we'll see!

Tour guide Asif: 

Kolkata is colloquial pronunciation, reclaimed a few years ago. British capital for India until 1911, more than 125 years. Still lots of nostalgic colonial influence. That's why some of city is still called White Township. We're heading to North Kolkata, through Dalhousie Sq., now called BBD:  Binod, Badal and Dinesh, 3 young freedom fighters. We're heading to far north, area full of life, to Kumartuli. Famous for contrasting characters.

Divide city into 3 parts: 

1. north, old part of city, residential for middle class
2. central, business area
3. south, for rich people, affluent class

• west is river Hooghly, branch of holy river Ganges
• east is township (lost thread)

Statue of Gandhi, sports stadia for many different sports. 2nd largest cricket stadium, 67,000 (smaller now to facilitate better security). Also central city bus terminal, the Esplanade area. Can see tower, monument in memory of British soldiers in Nepalese. Indira Gandhi road used to be WWII runway, other end of 2 km straight road is Fort William, now HQ of Indian army. Kolkata as mecca of Indian football, 3 important teams, East Bengal and 2 others. We're at south gate of gov's house, 64 acres, official residence of governor of West Bengal. Stadium in front of us is HUGE with giant lights wrapped in red and wide metal scaffolding-like towers. Next to stadium is All India Radio building. Kolkata's mother tongue is Bengali, with Hindi spoken widely. But English is still official language of state. State parliament's Assembly House sits across from Radio. Gothic architecture of high court building used to be Supreme Court of India until 1911. Treasury Bldg (Central Finance Dept) is housed in beautiful, large red building with 100s of Palladian widows, air conditioning units jutting out of every window with gray shutters thrown open. Bright white and blue wrought iron fencing. Is this an Asian or European city, he asks?

Oldest Anglican church, 1784, St. John's first cemetery of East India Company, inside church, lots of historical artifacts including old painting of Lazarus. First reserve bank sits across street, first branch of Hong Kong Bank on Asian subcontinent, before war area, next to Suez, this was the only metropolitan city, all global offices were housed here. Insurance companies where here, Royal Insurance, largest post office (beautiful, 24/7 operation). Rail offices for whole of nation, tax collectors, writers' building (now secretariat, from 1882) was barrack for writers, clerks for East India Company. Deep red painted brick. Now serves as cabinet offices for state gov't. Dalhousie Sq. houses square water tank used to supply drinking water for city, now used as basement parking for emergencies. Historic church across from writer's building, St. Andrews, Scottish church, first with air conditioning. Bus is making loop around central area.

Now we head north, as we pass through north, lots of old buildings. In some cases, you become puzzled to see, full of banyan trees, so old, they need good maintenance, gives area a lot of charm. Central Telegraph Office Bldg and Standard Life insurance Buildings, 5-6 grand stories tall, trees growing out of upper walls, crumbling balconies, windows broken. Such beautiful buildings, rich stone work, will be expensive to renovate but worth it, in my estimation. 

Bara Bazar, largest wholesale market in Asia, 200 million rupees in cash, daily transaction, no receipt, totally depending on trust. Business conducted via relationships. 4 square kilometers. Open water taps on roadside: one water directly from river, kept here as fire hydrants. Street vendors use for washing and cleaning. Drinking water comes 2 x a day, 2-3 hours at a time, morning night, purified for drinking purposes. People use who have no direct water connection in their houses. Area for wholesale products is divided by product. We're driving by wig shops also with chamor used for puja (horse or yak tails used for religious purposes). 

West Bengal is actually in the east, only state created just on basis of language. 

We're driving by oldest mosque in Kolkata, where 10,000 people pray together at a time. He says after prayer you cannot walk these streets, they're so crowded. I see this from the bus window. Shops are built out into the street across the sidewalks, so people have to walk in the street. Stores are built on our around elevated pallets, a meter off the ground, and in these pre-market hours, many vendors are sleeping on them, colored tarps stretched across slender tree/rattan "trunks" serving as poles, lashed with twine or secured with rubber bands. Looking at rickshaw driver resting at light. The man can't have more than 5% body fat, maybe less. 

Lungis are always loose, never stitched in south, just in north. New generation doesn't care so much about very gendered dress (lungis). 

Whole fruit market, 2 kms long land stretched farther than I can see, 70% of lane is choked with vendors and their wares, starting at 10-5 daily, auctioning fruit. The other 30% space is for buyers, if they can manage to squeeze past each other. Glad I don't have business to conduct there--you cannot browse at a leisurely pace. We continue to pass people in this wide bus with just an inch or two to spare. People sit on their palettes, chopping vegetables, wrapping bidis, resettling their blankets. Just passing Tagore house, can't see it, doesn't stand out amid dilapidated buildings. Oh, at end of side lane, behind gate. A huge old red building. And another man relieving himself against the wall at the side of the street. I have seen more of that in Kolkata than anywhere else, but it happens everywhere. Just saw a man chiseling stone into smaller pieces. The curious thing was that he was squatting on the stone he was chiseling, chipping away a the surface below his feet until it was just at his toes. I wondered how much longer he could strike it with such force, because the stone as I saw it was almost the exact area of this feet. What commercial purpose could that have?

Wow, what's NOT for salw on this street?

I wonder what it's like to live here? People in the West would pay a fortune for some of these building facades. All the posters from typical Bengali folk theaters or the village stages (jhatra), has its versions in other regions, etc. They give color to the streets (not lacking, actually). People come to these areas to book the performers for shows in their areas. 

Kumar = potters

Tuli = area of village, localities. An old part of northern Kolkata.

Partha: professor of art, was at Univ. of Iowa on Fulbright.

Kumartuli, make idols with local clay. Don't fire it. Used to use different kinds of pottery along with clay sculptures, 

use earthen colors, paint according to mythological characters. 

4 sculptures: Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha

, lion, Ashura...all have 2 hands. 

No properly organized studies, use roads to create their work. We can see dozens of examples in streets already. Roadside shrine to Kali, roadside barber (no chair, no nothing, except lather and razor) and shoeblack on opposite side of elevated square. 

.........so we're just back in the bus after having a walk through the idol makers area. We walked a 1-2 km semicircle through the narrow streets looking into the various craft spaces where men worked on different stages of clay idol production. Some bunched straw together into the molds, some matted clay onto the rough straw figures, others massed and smoothed clay by hand onto the figures, lifting clumps of gray mass from large mounds on the sidewalk. Then there were men who smoothed the clay into finished forms, using their hands almost as paint brushes. The weather, the heat and time had caused some idols to crack, so I saw some workers tending to the necessary corrective measures, patching in long lines across the torsos and arms of otherwise robust brittled gray forms. The men squatted in dusty lungis, undershirts already discolored with sweat. Most workshops had alcoves where other team members worked, but most spaces kept high ceilings to accommodate the largest idols. The clay is brought from the river, so it's holy clay, and these figures are returned to the river at the end of the festivals, so it's only proper that the river reclaim them, as the unfired clay dissolves on its return to the water. Durga Puja festival happens in autumn, probably in October this year. It's the largest festival in Bengal, generally lasting 10 days and peaking during the last 4 days. The idols are worshiped during the festival, then after the 10th day, they are offered into the river with great fanfare. We saw 1000s of idols today, and Kumartuli is the main supplier nationwide (do I have that right?), but there are other suppliers around the country. Kumartuli has become a brand, considered to be more authentic, most sought-after because this style of pottery/idol-making started here. It is priced a little higher than other outfits, but the busy hive of activity we saw suggests they have no trouble keeping customers.  

Reminder: Durga is a wife of Shiva, an incarnation of the goddess Kali. She has two children, Lakshmi (goddess of wealth, celebrated on Thursdays) and Saraswati (sp?--goddess of knowledge). And as all teachers know, a person can have one or the other, but not both. 

The idols are painted with vegetable dyes, and the government apparently checks to makes sure the paints used are non-toxic. The first batch of clay each season must be purchased from prostitutes (who get it from the river) as a gesture of social inclusion. 

I asked Partha (the professor of ceramics, potter himself) about how the monsoon affected the industry and more specifically the idol makers. He said flooding was a constant concern, as the whole lower tier of people's work could be wiped out with unexpected floods. Potters try to mitigate the effects of the sun/rain with tarps, that explains why they stretch nearly fully across the side streets. 

We are seeing some people hunched on the outside of the curb near the entrance to a mosque. Most are men in their 50s, 60s, sitting on their worn sandals, chatting with each other or staring at the back sides of the vendors whose stalls line the sidewalks. I saw a mother with matted hair, dirty sari and two naked small children sitting in the dirty curbside. She was reaching out in a gesture of management, hey, get back over here, kind of way. Like we all do. This is hard to see and think about. 

Just driving by the rather elegant Tipu Sultan Mosque, 2nd largest mosque in Kolkata. White, low and large. Seems to cover a lot of ground, with many stupa-type protrusions from the roof, not quite onion-domes, and clustered together in a way I've not seen before.  Busy traffic circle, again with clusters of folks sleeping on the sidewalk. Usually these people are sleeping on a mat or cloth, some with their possessions bundled near them, sometimes just as is. 

We have a long break this afternoon and I'm torn about what to do: Victorian Monument and St. Paul's Cathedral, or Indian Museum? Don't think my brain could handle all of those together. I am grateful for the extra two hours of sleep this morning, even though I missed the Kalighat trip this morning (which was excellent, so everyone says. That's good, especially since we were prepared for the worst). 

Need to go in and make plans for the afternoon!

Flowers for puja at Kalighat, a bit blurry

Kids in the street

superfocused kite flyer, Kalighat

rooftop view from New Light center

street side card game

Kalighat Temple lit up at night

Intent rooftop kite flyers

rooftop view from Kalighat

women at municipal water tap

Humble workspace, Kalighat red light area

New Light NGO founder Umri Basu

From roof of New Light

30 July: St. John's School, New Light

30 July: brief notes only today

Woke up for run, a must after 3 beers last night. 7Ks had me feeling accomplished by 8 a.m. And sweaty. Gym supervisor Vivek suggests I come at 8:30 tomorrow so we can run at the same time. I've seen him exercise to pass the time waiting for more engaged clients (I'm not much of a chatter there) and he's like a 25-year old Jack LaLanne. I don't think I'll be working out with him.

I think it's fair to say we were dragging a bit at the thought of visiting yet another school this morning, this one St. John's Diocesan School for Girls, one of the oldest in Kolkata. It was built in the mid-19th century, started by a Western woman (don't know if she was British or American, but I remember her name was Hoare, regrettably). I'd expressed to Pavithra at breakfast that we'd already seen 8-9 schools and those visits were falling into a pattern of administrator-directed song-and-dance, not that the school leaders dissimilate, but they understandably talk from their macro- point of view and show off the shiny bits of their programs. We get it. We do the same at our schools. Fortunately, Pavithra and the school's director were able to concoct a plan that suited our needs perfectly. 

Great conversation with 4 young ladies, smart, focused and articulate. I learned a lot (they don't have time to date, not that their parents would allow it anyway) and I now have 4 new FB friends.

Lunch

New Market: yowza. Walking out in street is actually easier than inside mall. These crowds are like NYC on parade day, but constant. Who knew?

Quick break to read about tomorrow morning's trip: Kalighat Temple. More on this later.

Sanjeev is also being contacted (repeatedly) by Tamil Nadu police about books and CDs our group left back in Madurai hotels--Brother Imran's materiel. They're concerned about religiously-rooted terrorist activity from our group. That's hysterical. Actually, considering the bombings in Delhi, I guess it's not too far-fetched, sadly.

_________________________

Notes below were written during our meeting with Urmi Basu at New Light, with my typing as fast as possible. I have not revised notes. 

Must write about trip to New Light NGO, school health clinic, nursery, etc. Walk through a hive of narrow passages, small streets, through markets. About 2 dozen kids, a dozen older women sewing. 

This organization was founded by a woman from here, named Urmi Basu. She is an inspirational leader. In her private office, there are pictures of her in the company of Hillary Clinton, citations from Pope Benedict, lots of major awards for her work here. Damn. New Light was one of the organizations prominently featured in the film version of Nick Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's Half the Sky. So glad to know that. 

Main founder is an elegant woman in 50s. Western dress, pink striped oxford shirt, jeans, colorful Indian flats. Black and silver hair, cut short and fashionably. 

• Krishna Dol, an early founder...13-years ago as young girl began to work here
• George...didn't catch last name
• Shima Banerjee
• teacher coordinator, Sanjeev (handyman, jack of all trades), Raju as teacher, Monju , Dithi, Ritade, Sudhappa, and many other dedicated teachers.

 3 other locations, behind crematorium (kids from untouchables), dads or grandfathers work in crematoriums, morgues, prisons or gov't hospitals. Untouchability was abolished but it still is deeply embedded, latent but in most of our society. Bengal Punjab, Maharashtra emphasize it less. Tamil Nadu less so, still very conservative. Bengalis "have risen above this a little bit in our day to day life", very strong in Uttar Pradesh, Matha Pradesh, Rajastan, Kerala, will take a long time to get rid of this. Education is key, occupations that are not caste-bound help this process, maybe the changes are going to be more rapid in the next 2 decades than in the last 5. Digital world breaks down barriers. Job at call center, or working with software, where you come from doesn't matter. You are evaluated on your qualities and your potential. We would like our children to benefit from this, so they who they are matters more than where they come from.

This is 13th year of operation. We see a little achievement, some minor changes. Started project in two tiny rooms downstairs, windowless, dark, 'quite sad looking", but gradually got this structure on the terrace, with help of friends, volunteers, foundations, got this space. Got residential home for girls, belongs to New Light, renting property for girls from 18-23 who are in professional training of going to university. Semi-supervised living arrangement, hopefully when they get jobs, 2-3 of them could get apartment together. We currently pay rent and food. German and Spanish foundations fund this currently. 220 kids in the program, and their  mothers too, plus other women in community, but come to access health care and income-generation program. Run micro-credit organization (5,000-10,000 rupees) usually flower vending, roadside food stall, ready made garments from wholesellers.

Women who want to participate have to abide by 3 rules: 

1. No liquor (even though it's made just here) 
2. No spurious kerosene, gas (stolen and repackaged) would be stored in living quarters, obviously a huge hazard in a congested neighborhood like this. 
3. No trafficking. This happens a lot, girls given to people from village who now live in cities, "come with me, live in city". Hard to track routes, hard to get victim testimony. 

Rain just started, sounds like an assault on the roof. Kids and teachers came through and released the rattan/cane rolls that hang on the gridded metal windows, keep rain out, breeze still comes in a bit, all air circulated by 5 intent fans overhead. Electric light, spacious room. We sit on backless benches, feels inviting and warm. Children greeted us with elegant pink long-stem roses. 

Q: Chris: tell us your successes since you began 13 years ago.

A. This program began without a blueprint. We didn't know what level of acceptance or buy-in we'd get in the community. Whatever success we've seen happend bc of 2 reasons: 

opened evening creche, service not available at that time. Between 5-10 p.m. Women needed support of keeping children safe, in care of other adults from community.

we engaged large number of people from the community. first set of teachers all from the community. These are all people from community, little kids. We didn't need people with PhDs, rather kids from 7th standard. I tried to create opportunities for them to improve their own education, work with nurses and doctors, build their own capacities. They gained a lot of opportunities they'd missed out on having been brought up in this community.

Dream is to get enough young people to carry this work forward, and hopefully in 15 years Kalighat red light district will disappear, there will be no need for it.

Q: Chris: so your kids have graduated from high school and gone on to trade shcool or university?

A: yes, international culinary school, one in Delhi at university. 4 girls in graduate schools, one MSW (here working), Montessori training, we'll be using that with small kids. We have 2 girls in nursing schools. 4 or 5 of them are in 11th or 12th standard, so they'll be finishing high school and going on to study accountancy or finance.

Q: Gene: what inspired you to do this?

A: you can't see kids in this situation and do nothing. For me, it was a personal choice, I coudn't move away from here and not do anything. Came to Mumbai red light district on field trip for social work graduate school. I promised myself that if I felt competent enough, this is the community I'd want to work with.

I had not planned to come to Kalighat, but students (Raju and others now working as teachers) invited me to come see one of their sporting events. I Saw things that spurred her to act...kids kept under bed while mothers were with their clients.

Q: Wendy: what resistance did you find, unexpected. What support (expected or not)?

A: expected lots of resistance, lived in mortal fear on some days. Got support where I didn't expect it. Mothers feel ownership of this project. community knows its their project, it's their people. Whatever money we spend on supplies, it stays here in the community. Keeps people invested and involved. 

Q: Melinda: what about prevalence of ?HIV/AIDS. Have you seen inroads?

A: just a few HIV testing clinics when we started, no nutritional support, vaccinations, etc. Now all our kids vaccinated against those kinds of diseases (measles, mumps, Hep B). I see the difference in the health status of kids between beginning and now, everything is "hugely different", height, weight, how they look. When I came here, many kids were going to bed with only a boiled sweet at night. No refrigeration, nothing can be kept fresh. Mothers would give a rupee, tell the kids to go buy something. They have this on record, body weight and height from day 1. That's why local health administration doesn't mess with us. 

We've also doing Hep B & C campaigns with mothers, talk to mothers who work in prostitution, distribute condoms, help them access treatment in gov't hospitals. It's mandatory for gov't to provide anti-retroviral therapy. Train woman how to follow treatment protocol, get them to have different types of tests, get them to share in groups so they don't feel isolated. We distribute 6,000-12,000 condoms month: 100 women x 5 clients 20 x week. 

Q: Dolores: how early do they start in prostitution?

A: we don't want them to start. 

D: but what's the reality

A: used to be 11-14. Those who fall through the cracks these days, 15-18.

Q: Cath: when you started, did you have a population of children born with HIV?

A: no, not when we started. And when we got to know the women, we encouraged them to go get tested. These are older women, many of whom have history of substance abuse (alcohol). Negotiate safe sex with first client, then drink, then over time lose that focus. These are women at end of work life, some are pretty desperate. 

Q: Wendy: what about support from local authorities? Are "educated" people resistant? Is it hard to get donors?

A: In beginning, hard to find qualified people to come work here. Families of qualified young women resisted, they were afraid. Partnership with local police has always been very positive. Police sometimes call with vagrant or trafficked girls. We also have a good relationship with Social Welfare Dept. They believe our methods are model for implementation elsewhere.

Q: Melinda: what are your needs/wants?

A: money to send our older kids to university or trade schools. $2,000 year. We are looking for multiple sponsors, to break up this amount. It's a big challenge.

Q: Dolores: how can our schools, our kids help you?

A: Book talk, Half the Sky (featured in it), or screen the film. 

Q: M: what about the life expectancy of people here?

A: when I came, I saw 50 year old women who looked 70 or 80. Now great things have been taken off their minds, the future of their children. Their daughters don't have to be prostitutes. Now people look their age. They have access to health care. We don't compromise when it comes to saving a life.

Q: Me: do you operate in conjunction with local schools , or in lieu of them?

A: all go to school. Used to go to government schools. Now many in private, English-medium schools. 

5 lakhs of ruppes annually on school fees. Scholarships are tough because schools can't afford to sacrifice the income. 

Q: M: have you had women leave hte profession since you started?

A: yes. We've given them options. They cook, they escort kids to school, they help out with our 24-hour staff, they work as peer educators, AIDS outreach workers.

Q:Lou: do kids come and go on their own? 

A: moms bring young ones. By the time kids are 9, they come on their own, "it's like their grandmothers' place". 

Q: Dennis: how do you personally deal with the women who don't stop working as prostitutes?

A: they do that out of their circumstantial compulsion. Not our place to do that until we're in a position to offer them an alternative life/lifestyle. Our alternatives have to be strong enough to outpace the market. The first time is never by choice. They never say I do this because I like it. When you're trafficked at 13, you may be kept in isolation, raped 20 days, your soul may be dissociated from your body. 

Very tough to make an escape, until they're past their prime. They can earn a lot as young women. We'd like to cut off the source, the inflow. That can happen only if we go to the villages with extreme poverty to raise awareness. Also give alternatives to women who are exiting so they don't have to prey on young women.

None of this is written down. This knowledge base has developed over time. But the circumstances vary by community. 

Q: brings up book on this topic, our host knew, Sold, by Patricia McCormack, who now is a partner of sorts with New Light. Book is made into a movie, coming out this year. Based on her 3-years of work and research in Nepal.

Q: Lou (didn't hear question due to typing)

A: we've mapped out territory by risk, we've gone to those places and talked to girls and their families about risk factors, about the importance of girls' education, that they have earning potential equal to boys. Most of the time there are no toilets in village girls' schools, no sanitary napkins, these factors keep girls out of school from 13 on. (point from Lou) Yes, they are more likely to receive that information from women who've worked here. 

Q: Cath: are women past their prime trafficking the new generation?

A: yes, these are women who are older. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a space (to rent out on commission) for younger prostitutes.

Q: (me) what kind of educational services do you provide?

A: support system, HW help. There is no space to do these things at home. Their homes are twice the size of this table (points to 6'-long table).

Q: What do you see in terms of acting out? And are your kids at great risk of abuse themselves?

A: we have counselors working with them. Sometimes we send them outside for therapy. We send all our teachers for counseling training. Yes, we see kids acting out a lot. A lot of young boys grow up with deep resentment to their mothers, esp. when they see clients going in and out of their home every day. We ask teachers to contact us (not mothers) when there's a problem at school. 

Q: how are women treated?

A: great prejudice within larger community. Even Dalit women will not sit near them, they are at the very bottom of the social/caste ladder. "Respectable" women refuse to interact with them. Says that kids though do not suffer same discrimination because they interact with people from around the world, they have new uniforms and school supplies. We give them lots of experiences. They made a film that's being shown at International Animated Film Festival in Pusan. (wow!)

Very close to getting home for boys opened. Still about $12,000 shy. We'll have 24 beds, with about 5 staff, housemaster or houseparents (couple with baby, ideally). Someone to do cooking, support staff, yoga and karate masters. They already have 2 homes for girls in southern part of city. These homes don't meet need. There are 36 in younger girls home, 14 now in older girls home, definitely need to increase number of girls in older home. 

All NGO. If we take our HIV-positive patients to gov't hospitals and social welfare depts, police, judiciary, we can get consultations, but we are limited in the support we receive from government. 

_____________

This post is incomplete. I am not sure how to capture the deep, important and difficult thoughts brewing in my mind. The New Light experience crystallized many strains of thought, both conscious and suppressed, that have accumulated over time here. Poverty, power, helplessness, responsibility (both individual and social, theoretical and immediate), gender, love, humanity. I will have to make a separate entry about this. But I need time to think. How do we care for each other? How do we love our planet, ourselves? What is MY responsibility as a member of a family, a society, a world? What does it mean to be rich, to be poor? Are these the questions only the rich ask?

How do you prioritize what people need to live lives of dignity? How do we treat our most vulnerable? What do I do as an individual, and when I don't help, am I failing my brother and sister human beings?

We stood together, Lou, Wendy and I, in the gorgeous waters of the Oberoi swimming pool, talking about these big questions. Maybe we each have to carve out our own paths, and therein lie the answers. Ironic, to have that discussion there. Or perhaps not ironic, just emblematic of power imbalance. This fact did not escape us in the moment, and it made our conversation even more fraught.

29 July: Loreto School (Rainbow School), and American Center at Consulate

29 July: Loreto School

Theresa Mendes, social worker at Loreto School in Kolkata.

1264 students, 750 do not pay fees (just minimal amount "to preserve dignity"). 2500 rupees per month

640-650 students, visit students at home, interact with benefactors to get funds. Provide link to 

write up case studies for teachers, principals with goal to keep child in classroom rather than out of class.

Not just important that child be in school if burdened with terrible problems bc teachers cannot reach kids in crisis even if child is right in front of them. Must be able to reach kids individually. This approach has helped reduce dropout rate significantly.

Give meal in afternoon, started labor exchange with parents (come in, tell skills they have, school places them within context of school to help fulfill school community needs, say with tailoring, masonry, etc.)

Almost 60% of students do not speak English at home. But families choose to send their daughters here bc it's a "passport to a job". They insist students should reach class X or XII. School seeks sponsorship to help graduates continue studies into college where kids want.

Programs:

1. urban deprived child "barefoot teaching program"
2. Poona: for children/families who just migrated from Calcutta, live in shanties
3. for Orissa, fisherfolk children, very low caste
4. ChildLine: help line for children in distress, started in Mumbai, came to Kolkata about 15 years ago
5. Rainbow program: for street kids, any age, give them some form of literacy and numeracy. Get them ready and mainstream them (for younger ones, easy to mainstream them here; for older ones, send them to vernacular schools but continue to support them.) for highest risk students Rainbow homes where kids live there 24/7 150 there now. Several sites around the city at Loreto locations. 

This has Rainbow School embedded in it.

Interacting with 9th and 2nd grade students, taking pictures, letting them type their names on the Chromebook. Surprised at the English language facility of the 9th standard students, really good. The 2nd standard kids are largely from the nearby red light district, stigmatized in their neighborhoods, but not here (or so we're told by administrators). The older kids are reviewing Bengali lessons with tattered storybooks conveying rhymes and regional information. For example, I saw a story about a horse and elephant dancing at a wedding celebration (2nd standard) and an explanation of the tea-gathering techniques of Darjeeling (5th standard). Bengali script is lovely, but I think I still prefer the swoopy lines of Tamil, just to look at, at least.

One of the directors is describing some of the school's success stories to us. Some of the girls have left here to become lawyers, other professions. I continue to attract attention from students as I stand here and type. It's adorable. The kids want games and video. Sorry to disappoint. And they are not shy about touching the keyboard. I've had to re-enter the password 3 times so far in 20 minutes. "Auntie," they call, and swing the keyboard back around to me. Moving on...

outreach to 6 village schools, informal on Saturdays, under the trees. And at truck stops (did I hear that right?) to teach basic literacy and numeracy for young boys who've dropped out of school. For past 27 years. 

Teacher Drew Potts has been working here for 5 weeks. I asked him candidly about the rote memorization versus application and individual agency. I've been really impressed with what I've seen here. He says the folks here work on looping through content each year with increasing depth. End of year 10, students must sit for exams, if they don't pass they can't progress. And they need to own the answers perfectly, hence memorization is key here. Having said that, he's been impressed with how much students learn and can process. He thinks American students/teachers could work on content depth. We emphasize the other macro skills. I agree with him.

I'm so impressed with the six girls (heads of house here) who are fielding our questions about their schools here. House divisions end for 11th and 12th standards. 

C: what do you love about your school?

A: that it teaches us to be independent. That we work with deprived students. 

A: we are not all from the same financial backgrounds, our school promotes equality. This is really special, because we all come from different social and financial backgrounds, but this does not affect our friendships here. This is one of the most special and important elements of our school.

Mary: what do you do outside of school?

A: dance, sing, read, etc.

Drew cites different understanding of homework. Here are three questions to think about. Or look at these questions in your text and write your answers in your copybook. He says most of the nitty-gritty work is done in class, largely due to kids' busy home lives or commuting lives. 

11th standard student: 

Main differences between 11th/12th std. and lower grades is the focus and pressure: "The pressure is so huge that we don't do outreach in villages." They have competitions with schools in the area, drama, sports, Drew says it's like an academic decathlon with about 20 different schools. 

Lots of inquiry-based science labs.

Really impressive young ladies, smart and composed and quick on their feet. Thoughtful individuals...it might be tempting to say they're coached or mechanical, but that's not the case as far as I can see.

The school is also running several other important outreach programs and the staff highlighted two for us: the brick field schools (for kids whose families work in villages across the greater Calcutta region making bricks from earth, drying them in the sun). I've seen TV features on this type of work before, it's arduous. Children as young as one work there, but most are 5-7 and up. The families migrate with the work, so instead of the kids coming to the school in its central location, the school now employs teachers who go to the brick fields. We saw a Powerpoint on it that was informative and compelling. They were very straightforward about their challenges, namely how to talk to families about child labor laws (children under 14 cannot work, according to national law). How to get/retain good teachers, how to fund the schools, etc. Right now they are entirely funded by donors from the Netherlands, Ireland and the UK. 

The staff also described a project about women's empowerment through work and handicraft skills. We bought some of their wares--at US prices, which was jarring--and it feels good to support the cause. When the women make money, they can pay for their kids to attend school. And that seems to be what most families want for their kids. There is a recognition that education is a primary factor lifting people out of poverty.

Driving through the streets here, staring out the window, I'm aware that I can only understand the surface of what I see. The side streets are small, narrow, wet with the morning's rain. Sanjeev says Calcutta has the cheapest public transport in all of India. It's great for the traveler, but it's one reason the buses look so rundown, in spite of the lively and original paint jobs that make them look so festive. The metro here costs about 4 rupees for a trip that in Delhi would cost 15, according to Sanjeev. And apparently I need to take a tram trip while I'm here. They may not long survive in modern (?) Kolkata, so I should aim for this adventure in the next 2 days.

We're just come down metal pipe lane, where men on the sidewalk are working in pairs, one squatting on his haunches holding the pipe and cutting agent in place , the other swinging a maul to cut the pipe at the target spot. My vocabulary for these types of things is not very extensive--this is like one or two aisles at Lowe's, just on the street. Guys are bathing, others washing and wringing their shirts out at open taps.  And here are four guys playing cars in the back of a blue van, door slid wide open for a breeze, legs tucked under, wherever there's room, cards flying, smiles and jokes making it look like a friendly scene indeed. My colleagues in front of me are talking about the severity and complexity of problems they face in their work as teachers and administrators around the country. We do so much more than teach, and that's something we share with our Indian colleagues. We are all responsible for so much. 

And there's a guy cleaning his teeth with a small brown stick, using it just like a toothbrush (back and forth, back and forth). Just as I clicked on my camera, he looked up. Rats. A moment too slow.

Did I mention that Kolkata is one of the last places where you see rickshaws being pulled by men, rather than by machines? It looks like so much labor for so little money, but I have no idea how it feels or what they really earn. I saw an leather (vinyl?) upholstered one yesterday, and all I could think about was how it must weather--but it looked unmarred by mold. How is that possible here where the air is dense with moisture? 

American Center; US Consulate General at Kolkata

Art: wow, this traditional art is amazing. I bought a few SariSwathi (sp?) and a Ganesh t-shirt--yay!

red: saffron

orange: crushed bricks

yellow: turmeric

green: leaf (akin to spinach...hinche in Bengali)

dark brown: soil of this area from ponds

blue: aparajita...someone who is undaunted  (small flower)

Dr. Sudeshna Banerjee: just back from Fulbright at Brown Univ. PhD from Univ. of London School of Far East and African Studies; urban culture specialist including (among a long list) the cultural importance of sport; and people's experience of Partition

Theme of religious pluralism, particularly in Bengal...

• Important to think of city as colonial one, used to be three villages. North and south of city (deltide areas) were heavily forested. Prior to that, there was a world of religious differences out there. Regular people in pre-colonial period practiced some Islam (had come in 13th c.) but there had been Buddhism, Brahminism, others. Role of rivers were important in culture at this time. Makes it tough to draw boundaries, for example, because of changing nature/shape of rivers. Where rivers constantly change course. Syncretism was somehow endemic to the situation, particularly for the lower orders. Lower classes constantly took bits and pieces of other belief systems, upper classes did not do this. Deltide Bengal has been inhabited from time immemorial, btw, with own deities, animism, etc. So the majority people reckoned with waves of other belief systems as invaders came and went. 

• Ultimately, within 200 years of Islam arriving in Bengal, interesting syncretic forms appeared in Bengal. So Prophet Mohammad became a boatman in popular culture (no surprise there). Similarities to Krishna fording a river, Rhada and her friends trying to take a boat ride, Krishna trying to have fun with them...using boatman iconography. Takes people "the other side" in a friendly manner, not with judgement. Concept of gaaji, person who makes war on infidels and inner, baser self, gets transformed a bit here. No evidence that they used forcible conversions, rather they helped save people from impending death. That's how they became inculcated into "modern" culture. Gaajis trying to preach, but making space for changes. 

• This is why there are tigers (Dokken Rai, BoneBibi) in the pantheon of gods, because of the Sundurbans. 

• City of Calcutta is being grafted in 19th century, especially as it was not meant to be "urbanity" of this scale, happened only because of English business interests. The geography, climate, etc. were not well suited to this (professor reminds us that short session inclines her talk toward simplification, and she apologizes for skips in history and analysis). 

• Portuguese had been here first (for Europeans) but came as pirates, slave traders, not as longer-term businessmen. Armenians, Chinese, Jews and Parsis came, other groups contributed to its melting pot nature in 18th century. Modern Chinatown shows this mix still: Buddhism, Confucianism, Christian. 

• Racism was one result of some mixing (she reminds us she's jumping around)

• More important, however, was proclamation in 1858 by Queen Victoria that British would rule India. This had profound impact on this area. It had been dominated by fisherfolk, farmers, now clerical workers (Bengali Hindu middle class) working for regime. They had no place in production, subsisted on educational capital. A thriving group of educated employed, crucial in continuity of pre-existing tapestry of syncretism, but many more became Sanksritized , Brahminical Hindus. This happened a LOT in last half, quarter of 19th century. Notions of nationhood imbibed by educated middle class in Bengal seeped out from here. More elaborate administrative network, capital of British Indian empires whole, census-making came into being (from here). Built on English system of classification, calculating figures to "know" population. The reading public of Bengal (the colonial middle class) were reading the census, not just imagining the nation vis-a-vis the colonizer, but a reimagining of the country in an indigenous context. 

• Rapid urbanization is important here too, especially as frustrations associated with this process found expression sometimes in communal violence. 

Dr. Tirtha Prasad Muhkopadhyay, prof. at Univ. of Kolkata, specialist in aesthetics, art, is a poet, interested in emergence of creative faculties of primitive man.

Asked to speak about religiouis reform movements 100-200 years, focus on Bengal. 

Religoius movements in Bengal and how they culminate in the modern era: (notes are his words and my paraphrasing...too dense, could not capture it all)

• early 19th century, marked by events which have "very distinctive prognostications for religious ferment" for next 200 years, and cross- & under-currents
• First significant departure from orthodox Hinduism, an event whose ripples continue to be felt today, institutions of justice, law, and state, morality, depth of puritanical consciousness. Would it be possible to illustrate the design of synchretism with event from history? Can we construct it in the form of a report? William Kerry's evangelical mission, coming to India, the Particular Baptist Missionary Society for the Cultivation of the Heathen, rational trinitarianism. Sets scene for complete rethinking of Vedic tradition. Family came in 1793, settled 20 miles north of here. Wanted to convert natives Indians by translating Bible into Bengali and other Indian vernaculars. Creates impetus for total intellectual revolution on Indian soil, but also sets stage for serious discourse among Hindus. This discourse is in consonance with discourse in Christianity. Got tight with Rajah Roy, whose robust ideological move for a rational, monotheistic version of Hinduism. We think of Hinduism as monotheistic today, and that pathway starts with Roy (longer name, begins with Ramohan). Rational trinitarianism: belief in (Protestant version of) trinity, reflecting 400 years of Western European Protestantism. Ramohan discarded trinitarianism as a bowdlerized polytheism. Went instead for unitarianism. This is an important event. Raja Ramohan Roy fit this thinking in with Vedic monotheism, very radical at that time, rational and common sense. Very significant because it was a reform movement in which reformers tried to reject any kind of complex, inhuman rituals associated with religious practice. This attitude was evident in Roy's writing (The Precepts of Jesus), which show Jesus as human who led exemplary life. Compares Ramohan Roy's (rhetorical, polemic) technique to that of Thomas Paine. 

• This was a congregational version of Hinduism. Adoration of the one invisible supreme being is key individual pursuit. Academic Hinduism considers only unmediated reason as gateway to divine experience, as with conduct of life, all ethical and legal activity. Product in part of European nationalism, Hindu reformers were elitist, educated in Europe, not of mainstream. Rejection of Islamic sharia and Hindu caste system. DeRosio, Adam, David Hare...these and other reformers went against prejudices, anticipating Victorian scientific rigor (which replaced rationalism).

• Rationalism tends to get political, aims to claim power for underprivileged. Leads toward disowning of structure of Hinduism, you can see this in rewriting of India's 1950 constitution, a rational synchretic document. Its writer Ambedkha, was an untouchable who'd been educated in Ivy League US and London School of Economics. End of life became a Buddhist. 

• India, not like US/Europe/China, is a free society, less under pressures of economic, more about celebration, inclusion, and ...protects minority religious communities. So Muslims, even Sufis, fit in and are protected. 

Manipuri Dance: an integral part of culture of this NE state, for all religious and many other occasions. . Velasya (feminine aspect) is one of the two major styles of Manipuri dance; other is masculine

Dances:

1. Descriptions of the beauty of Radha (Lord Krishna's beloved)
2. Kanduk kehl...boy + game: Krishna's & Balram's teams play ball. Done with two pairs of dancers.
3. Lord Krishna loves butter. This dance tells the story of young Lord Krishna eating all the butter in the house, even the last pot hanging from the ceiling. She comes home and he runs away. This dance is based on the masculine aspect of Manipuri dance style. 

On way home, went across Hooghly (sp?) bridge, the second longest span in Asia, I hear. But that seems hard to believe, esp given some of the newer bridges built in the past decade in Japan and China. It was beautiful lit up at night. Then we walked a bit on a stretch of "riverwalk", seeing guys dressed in orange, (pilgrims of a sort, not the sanitation crew as we'd guessed), clandestine couples, fishermen in low wide boats (who turned out not be fishermen at all, but couples seeking a little privacy...wonder how that whole operation works). We also saw two young teens, maybe 10 or 11 years old, huffing some kind of substance out of chips bags. And we were approached by a eunuch (I didn't think they travelled solo) called hijra. Sanjeev and I were the first to notice, he was concerned, as he had no small bills. I'd seen a few shows about these folks and I know that it's best to keep them mollified. So I fished out a 10 rupee note and handed it over, got a disappointed look, a half-hearted blessing (a casual wave of the hand in the direction of my brow), then she turned on her heel and walked away. I tried not to make too much eye contact, but I saw she had exquisite make-up. We beat a path in the opposite direction before she gathered a crew to harangue us for more funds. Sanjeev says it's bad luck not to give them money, yes, and a big hairy pain in the buns. They create quite a scene, from what I've gathered, especially at weddings. Sometimes it's essential to keep a low profile as a Westerner here.

We also went by the Victoria Monument, lit up magnificently in the hazy night. It's the kind of building every world-class city has, both imposing (even at a distance) and inviting. Great lions at the front gate too. It's right by the lovely Birla Planetarium and across from Vicotira Park, where the lit and colored fountains were synched to hit trance-y music last night. Loved it. We ran, Frogger-like, across a traffic circle to take in the view. It was the best part of the evening, until my great google-chat conversation with Liv, Ruby and Chris when we returned. We got silly with the effects--what a bunch of cheeseballs. So happy to talk to them!

28 July: Kolkata

28 July: Kolkata

Intro with USIEF staff: Shevanti Narayan and Vinita Tripathi, Parvithra is from Kolkata but works in Delhi. Looks like we'll be relying on her big time. 

Niladri Chatterjee as tour guide. He's an asst. prof. of English at Univ. or Kalyani (West Bengal). I'm scanning his bio now and man, he's published a lot of scholarly work, especially in gender (esp. masculinity) studies. He's a former Fulbright scholar and an expert on Kolkata, it looks like we'll learn a lot from him. 

Our hotel is really centrally located, with markets all over and a metro stop one block away. Notes from his Powerpoint:

• Kumathuli: potters area, founded about 200 years ago as northern clay workers migrated south, settling where the clay suited their artistic/vocational needs. They make idols.
• Reminder: Ganesh is remover of obstacles. Begin all worship, undertakings with prayers/tribute to Ganesh. He's mischievous, so it behooves the supplicant to pay tribute to him first (to facilitate smooth progress in other pursuits). 
• Durga Pooja, traced back centuries, but has been major festival only since 1757. Mother Goddess...but modern form is martial, 10-armed demon-slayer (!!)

Bengalis are "not very martial", not many in army. "What we really enjoy is sitting around and talking...and talking...and talking". Enjoy chatting so much there is a special word for it: adda, a free-wheeling chat. Can get heated, Bengalis especially enjoy politics. Says they love their mothers, a little too much. The question is, how to turn Durga into a docile mother? Best answer: get her married, ergo she'll be "tamed". So they got her married to Shiva, but then she needs to have children to be really tied to home. So Bengali Durga is unique. She has 4 children. Iconography varies by region, Bengali Durga is the only domestic one.

British control of Bengal begins in 1757 as well. First large-scale organization of Durga Pooja was is 1606. Strangely, this has a lot to do with money, business. British wanted more and more inroads into Bengali economy, and vice-versa. So Bengalis "wooed" British business interests via Durga Pooja for 4 days and nights, a "huge exhibition of consumption". Strategic message in this sales pitch: do business with us, we are rich, we will not fail you commercially. So Durga Pooja today still has commercial element, but it is also a festival wherein artists showcase their work. So Sept./Oct. for 4 days Kolkata turns into "a massive art gallery" with street illumination, makeshift temples, floats, etc. Very elaborate. His slides show the astonishing amount of creative industry in Durga art, celebrations. Like art festivals at home, just on steroids. The artists don't advertise their names; it's all publicly spirited, funded by patrons. Pieces of some structures are reused at next major festival, Kali Pooja, and others throughout Bengal. Says people are beginning to archive these because heretofore there are no records, now some museums are recording these artistic triumphs, constructed with plaster of Paris, jute, thermo(_____?) and other materials.

Bengalis draw inspiration from many cultures, appropriate ideas from other places into their art. Cites "astonishing and mind-boggling amount of architectural styles" you find in Bengal. Says they're very "promiscuous" with their architecture. 

• Greek temple front was used by British a lot, becomes symbolic of power and control, acquires cultural and political significance, and in turn influenced the powerful and wealthy Bengali families who built their own villas with Greek temple fronts. 

• St. John's church dates back to early 18th century, gives space for mausoleum of Job Charnock who was responsible for East India Company setting up house here in 1650s. Makes the point that many English adopted Bengali life/lifestyle in 17th/18th centuries. 
• Kali temple, from 16th century...cite of some intercommunal moments of significance. Hindu-Muslim riots in 1926 and 1940s. Story about how Muslims protected Kali temple from violence of other Muslims during religious riots. 
• Showed Esplanade Mansions, the only art nouveau building in all of India. Built by a Jewish man in 1910. Used to be a sizable (20-25K) Jewish population in Kolkata, but many left at creation of Israel. Nahoum's Confectionery remains, and supplies the cakes for Christmas. "right there in New Market". Portuguese church is one of few Catholic churches in the city. 
• Some Kali festivals are reminiscent of Halloween and Dia de los Muertos. Gross explanation of Kali's disturbing accessories: dangling dead babies as earrings on Kali icon: this is a divine body. The parts of the body have tremendous significance. You can decorate the garland, the skirt with demon heads and hands. But to decorate the head, you need the purest forms of dead, so dead babies are purest kind of corpse, so those are the closest to the divine. 
• St. Andrew's, only Scottish church here. Gothic church is St. Paul's Cathedral, main Church of England here, inaugurated 100 years before Indian independence. Houses Edward Burn Jones stained glass window, one of the most famous Victorian artists.

Kolkata doesn't have a main street, but if there were one, it would be Bidan Serani (formerly Cornwallis St.) divides north from south. Narrow, prestigious, first properly built British street in the city. Those with any money built their houses there (like 5th Ave.) 

British imposed concepts of "proper" bodily regard, e.g. cover bodies of gods/goddesses. Bengalis now have "cultural amnesia", thanks to the legacy of education and enlightenment from the British.

Says South has escaped the British influence in this regard to a very large extent. 

Goddess of learning: Saraswathi, very white. As a color and for Hindus, it is a marker of intelligence, purity and most important, renunciation. If you pray to her, you cannot pray for wealth also. 

 

Current CM of Bengal is a woman (not sure who?)

Two major religions of Bengal: Hindu and Islam, but they celebrate Christmas. They decorate trees with cotton wool to simulate snow. Some streets are lit with colored lights. 

Notes on Kolkata's history: items that jumped out at me

• 1535: Portuguese traders come to Bengal from Goa. It had been under Moghul rule. Dutch arrive in 1636.
• 1651: British set up first commercial venture, a factory at Hugli
• November 1698: British man Charles Eyre buys the zamindari of Calcutta from Sabarna Ray Chaudhuri for 1,300 rupees. East India Co. paid rent to Moghul Emperor until 1757, when Robert Clive took the city from Moghul control. Two years later, (treasonous) Mir Jafar gives land to Clive as his Jagir.
• 1721: cricket arrives in India; Calcutta Cricket Club formed in 1792.
• 1899: Electricity arrives. College Street becomes the "book district" of the city.
• 1900: Chinese brought rickshaw to Calcutta, only form of transport that was reliable during the monsoon.
• 1902: trams electrified.
• 1911: Capital of India shifts from Calcutta to Delhi
• 1930: first runway at Calcutta airport
• 1984: Metro opens
• 1999: India's first Pride parade held in Calcutta

Communist rule lasted long time here, rule ended in 2011. They have a strong influence on Bengal culture. They also got tossed out by voters because of the stranglehold of corruption the party imposed. College admissions, job postings, and other officially-set pathways became closed to non-party members. And though I lost some of the thread of the story here, I recall that the Communists sought to develop the region's economy in part through aggressive privatization schemes: think government strong-arming, appropriation of lands cultivated by farmers, several of whom were killed in subsequent anti-government protests. Due to the nature of the architecture-themed, large-group walk-and-talk, I didn't have the chance to follow up with clarifying questions about this. But I found it interesting that the Communists were a long-time power here so recently.

I hung out in bed at the hotel after a magnificent lunch. I'd like to take and post photos but it seems too bacchanalian. It had started raining, then pouring, as we ended our architecture walk. The rain continued all afternoon. I wanted to go see the movie about the Sikh runner, but they were sold out. So I hung out and recharged my batteries. The Oberoi is a great place to do that.