Two Weeks in Kolkata

Our adventure as moved from week two into week three of our time here in Kolkata. Our bodies have adjusted to the time change, streets and sights we pass as we travel through town now are beginning to look familiar. We’ve found a few favorite haunts for shopping and refreshment and the street touts (read that ‘sales/advertising come to my shop’ people) are starting to recognize us and are beginning to know when we are ‘just looking’ and when we are truly ready to buy. So what have we learned about our temporary home that is Kolkata? Read on……..

Transportation

Transportation within the city happens via many conveyances. To get from point A to point B you have your choice of taxi, auto-rickshaw, above ground tram, bus and underground subway. By far the fastest way to get anywhere is by subway. Unfortunately there is only one line which only runs North and South. If you want to move North or South in Kolkata, it’s the way to travel.

Next fastest way to travel is by auto-rickshaw. Are you asking yourself what is auto-rickshaw? It’s a two cycle, blue smoke spewing covered tricycle. It’s not unusual that they put 4 to 8 passengers in one and then take you to your destination. They have set routes, somewhat like a bus route. A typical fare is 7 rupees, the equivalent of 16 cents. Because they are the smallest ‘mass’ transit vehicles the auto-rick drivers can squeeze between the taxis and cars in any traffic jam and get further in the traffic than any other type of transportation. They can also take the narrow, old side streets that the taxis can’t fit in.

Next most common mode of transport are the ever present yellow, Ambassador taxis. If there were a way to buy an Ambassador and bring it home I would bring one home! They are the most amazingly durable cars on the planet! They remind me of a 1953 Chevy, only smaller. Look on any Kolkata street during business hours and you will see flocks of yellow roof tops of these work horses of the Kolkata city.

Next are the trams and buses. We have yet to attempt to negotiate these modes of transportation. Even the locals say stay away from the trams. They break down often and when it is busy they are very crowded. As far as the buses go they are almost always full, dented and have loud, extremely squeaky brakes! I’m glad traffic moves slow here and there are no hills. I’m not sure the buses would be able to stop if they were going faster or down hill.

Driving in Kolkata is truly an art. Cole has decided to make his International Driving license a coaster for our glasses as he has NO intention of driving once he saw the traffic. At first when you get here there seems there is no rhyme or reason to how people drive. On first blush it looks like every driver has its own set of rules. Now that we have been here two weeks and have done much traveling around the city a pattern has emerged. The biggest and most apparent difference is that they drive on the left hand side of the road. The second most visible difference is that no one uses their car mirrors when they change lanes and believe me, they change lanes A LOT! The third most noticeable event is that everyone uses their horn all the time. After two weeks here are the driving rules that we have observed.

#1 Your horn replaces your review mirror. The reason the drivers don’t use their mirrors is because any time a driver approaches from behind they beep their horn. There are different beeps for different situations and I don’t have all of them figure out yet. Two beeps seem to mean, “I’m going to pass you.” One long beep seems to mean, “I’m here or Get moving!” Another thing that perplexes me is with all the horns or all that cars that are beeping at once how does the vehicle in front know it’s my driver that’s beeping their horn? It’s a mystery but it works because I have yet to see a fender bender or an accident.

#2 The car ahead has the right of way or to put it in skiing terms, “It is the responsibility of the uphill car to avoid the downhill car.” Again, it’s amazing how this all seems to work out.

#3 If you are crossing the street go at the right time, be careful and be fast. Cars will stop for you if you hold out your hand but your best bet is to wait for break in the traffic or when the traffic stops due to a traffic jam (which happen often) and then cross the street.

Don’t judge a book by its cover

Cole and I began looking for goods for our apartment (when we move in). We searched the shops of Park Street. Park Street is a tree lined street full of restaurants and shops. Some with visible store fronts, some that are hidden in old, mold covered buildings. No matter the look of the store front the goods are amazing! You go into a building of incredible age, wear and tear only to find a show room of amazing furniture and household items. We found the most incredible antique store full of things left from the British Raj….leaded mirrors, armoires, roll top desks, fainting couches, etc……. I didn’t ask prices but will go back once we have an apartment to see what I can arrange!

People

Kolkattans are a very friendly people. Always willing to help you find your way and going the extra step to help. They have led us to the right place when lost, hailed the right taxi for us and instructed the driver not to over charge us, personally escorted us to the right location and in general have made our introduction here very warm and welcome. They have a keen sense of humor and love to pull pranks on each other. They are amazingly hard working. The staff of our hotel work 12 hour days 6 days a week. You would think with those types of shifts and hours the degree of service would suffer. Quite the contrary, I have never seen such a high degree of personal service. On my rides home at night from work (2 AM) it is not uncommon to see the market sellers bringing in by hand cart the goods they will be selling in market. As I drive to and from work we pass many building projects in the process of construction. Despite the fact that all the buildings are built with concrete you do not see ONE concrete truck. Instead you see man after man carrying concrete in buckets from where it is hand mixed to where it needs to be poured.

Things Universal

As Cole and I have walked through the city we have realized there are some things that are truly universal. One of them is the cell phone, everybody has one. Young, old, working class, middle class, businessmen……everyone has a cell phone. The other thing that we have observed is children are the same everywhere. They love to smile and play. Currently in Kolkata the children are honing their skills in kite flying. In about two weeks there will be a massive kite flying contest. If you have read the book, ‘The Kite Runner’ you might be familiar with this eastern tradition. The children fly kites with strings upon which pieces of glass have been glued. As they fly their kites they try to cut the string of their opponents kite by making their string scrape across the string of their opponents kite. The last kite flying is the winner. The contest takes place the 15th of September and I hope to get pictures. Finally, there is one area that unifies all women…..shopping!!! Kolkata women love to shop and the amount of saree shops and jewelery shops available attests to that fact.

So the end of week two, the end of month one of my secondment……