Volunteer musketeer
Trip Start
Sep 27, 2008
1
5
Trip End
Oct 27, 2008
Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal, India
Sunday, October 5, 2008
We woke up at the quite ungodly hour of 5:30 to make our way over to the motherhouse for breakfast with the volunteers. First we were stopped on our way out by an old man who asked us about where we were from and then gave us a long speech abuot some professor he knew, or was it ghandi, giving a big speech to lots of people. for one horrifying moment (as we were already running late and i could understand 1 of every 5 words he said) i thought he was going to repeat the speech word for word. But he didnt and finally we made our way to a taxi.
We got off at the wrong building and so it took us a few minutes to get to the correct building. We knew we had to be in the right place when we came across about 60 white men and women in baggy pants and headscarves milling about. We had missed all but the last scraps of an already bare breakfast selection. These sisters of charity really go skimpy on the most important meal of the day, i tell ya. We had a slice of bread upon which a family of flies had also been feasting, two minibananas, and some chai. The chai here is SO sweet, even i can barely make it through a cup. The stuff's more suited to be poured on pancakes i believe.
Anyways, emily was acosted by a 60 year old canadian ex-pat with worn-through sandals and a crazed gleam in his eye who got into a huge (one- ended) discussion on US politics as Emily kind of nodded along. Someone blew a whistle or rang a bell, and like good little sheep everyone shuffled to one side of the room and began chanting. An asian guy, noticing i looked rather lost, turned my shoulders toward the poster everyone was reading. Emily decided to pray silently, which received furious looks from her new friend, Senor Crazy. To mine and emily's horror, everyone at the end of the pray, began to sing. The women all around us, in their uniform of traditional men's baggy cotton, low-low-low crotched pants, headscarves and birkenstocks sang and swayed in place, dewy eyed and inebriated by their own self-righteousness. Finally the doors opened and the good little sheep went forth to do good works.
We got on a bus and headed to the building in which we had been assigned that day, Pram Dan. It's a home for long-term care, people with an illness or injury, or perhaps some mental problems, who will eventually be released. I think. Some of the women there didn't seem like they were headed for future adventures after Pram Dan, and it was a hard sight to see. We were told that we do the laundry (i looked around, saw no Maytags and realized that they meant, definitely, by hand. Optimistic to the last I am, i tell ya), then interact with the people there, holding their hands and giving them hand massages or just listening to them as they spoke (in bengali). We then had tea and then fed the people their lunch, after their breakfast of milk and medication. It was rewarding, and i kind of enjoyed sitting with the women, though it was hard to see how starved for human interaction they were. I fed one woman with parkinson's like symptoms her lunch, and it was nice to know that even though i didn't do much, being there allowed the Sisters to tend to other people and do the work they needed to do. Halfway through though, i was SO tired. It's hard to see so many people in pain without their families or visitors. And if they do get well, they'll be sent where? Back to the street without anyone to look after them to make sure they wont get robbed or hurt? Its not something i like to think about much, as there seems so little that can be done in a city of people living on piles of garbage, a few feet from the relentless traffic.
After we finished for the day, it was about noon and we took auto rickshaws to Sudder Street, mecca of all that is dreadlocked and tie-dyed. We got caught in a minimonsoon and decided to check our email. (Emails Are NICE TO READ... just sayin...) Then i bought a shirt, following the behaviour of those all around, i decided on a flowy cottony thing that (i later learned) leeched dye onto everything it touched when wet. Luckily it cost a few bucks, so it wasnt too bad.
(i just heard a huge bang of thunder so i should make things quick. Already got cauhgt in the rain twice yesterday, no need for a repeat today!)
We then had to head back to the mother house to register, officially, to volunteer. It took about two hours, and we were exhausted and hungry, so it wasn't the happiest time of our day. We got to register with the dying and destitute house, another really fun place to be, but it's close to the guest house here, so most convenient. I think, however, that i may just stay with New Light- the amount of volunteers they have registering at Mama T organizations every day is HUGE, i dont think they need the extra help nearly as much as the other organization does.
When we came back to the guest house, randeep, another guest (british of indian descent) had bought emily a chocolate cake for after dinner from a nice confections place in town. With that and a few beers we celebrated her birthday. It was certainly the most charitable one she had ever had, that's for sure! I Dont think id be able to be so giving on my birthday, that's for sure!
Well, i should be off so that i can get a few hours of volunteering in today. Hope everyone's doing well and add comments if you like! :)
