An update.

Hello everyone! Again I have taken my time to get around to supplying you with an update of the times spent here in Kolkata!

Unfortunately part of the reason there has been a delay this time around, is that we have all suffered a loss of a friend and collegue, and I didn't think I could summon the energy to really accept it.

It has been just past 2 weeks since the beautiful Shanti, a friend to so many, and the owner of the most incredible smile, ended her life due to circumstances we can only guess and wonder about.

Many questions have crept into all of our minds of, "Why?", and the initial devastation and shock completely consumed us for the first few days. Yet Freeset is such an incredibly supportive and strong community, and it is truly one of the most heart-touching experiences I have had, to really be able to see those support systems that only death can make visible to the eye.

The day after Shanti's passing was her funeral, and was the first (and hopefully last) Hindu-style funeral I have attended. It felt very strange and numbing to be attending a funeral for a 22 year old friend, when I was unable to be at home for my Grandmother's just a few weeks before-hand. Very sobering.

The way that funerals operate here are very overwhelming, and I found it easier to numb myself to it, and just watch - it almost felt like I wasn't there in myself - as the wailing, sobbing, fainting, and intense incense smoke around me really hit the senses. Back home, grieving seems to be more of a private affair, and here open grieving is expected... it is all very raw.

What made it all seem very surreal was that when we were down at one of the ghats for the funeral to take place, is that it is a public funeral site, so we were in a large room with about 4 other deceased people. It was all just too much to even begin to take in, really.

We continue to grieve for Shanti, still question why, but we will always think of her as being one of the kindest, most sweet people we have known.

~

Despite all of this, we have still managed to smile through other occasions, such as a final girls-night-out before Maire and Dan welcome a little baby to the world!

Anna, Annie, Judy, and Deborah.

Our delicious Italian food!

Sarah, Pip, Maire, and myself.


The following photos are from before Shanti's death:

A lovely lunch date with Judy - reminds me of this time... here.

We even swapped half-sandwiches! Yumbo!

And then it was Kerry's 50th birthday, so we celebrated by smearing everyone with cake!

Lovely Annie!! I adore this woman.

Justin. What more can I say, huh? :)

Erika, moi, and the old-fella in the background.

The second cake, that was 70% used as face 'paint'.

A week or so before this, we had Mai's baby shower! This here is Sasha, she is awesome and lives in Thailand!

A slightly creepy looking baby...

This is inside the Freeset creche - I love this wall so much!

Sari-wrapped gifts.

Before the 'feeding'.

Beautiful Esme about to be spoon-fed...

...by Anna!

One of the games was to draw on a plate, and mine was one of the two winners! Yay! (I won henna - yussss).

Maire opening her gifts, aided by Mikayla.

The yummy cupcakes that Sarah baked!

This was the weekend following our return from Sri Lanka, and we had Monday off, so Justin, Anna, and I decided to venture to Science City, where many stations you could play around and experiment on were broken or poorly functioning, but overall the park exceeded my expectations, and I loved it so much! I especially loved going into the dome and watching a caving doco whilst nearly lying flat in reclining chairs.

Another night we decided we needed a night out for dinner at Macambo's, so we whisked Sasha off with us and enjoyed a great meal together! (I especially loved being in the company of a Kiwi around the dinner table!).

Judy and Erika.

Anna and Justin.

Nate and myself.

Using all the toothpicks for their REAL use - beard decorations.

New Market

Emmas chickpea lunch - mmm.

I love how everything is overly decorated, wherever you go.

People watching from our lunch table.

My dosa that I had - 37 rupees! (About 90 cents in NZ). So yum, and it had this amazing potato filling.

And finally, my first experience in a fabric store!!! Ahhhh! Look how amazing these are! Can you tell I am excited? I bought the one you can see in the very top right corner (most of it is cropped out). It was only 60 rupees, so about $1.45.

When you come into some of these shops, they give you chai in little clay cups that you just throw away. It is cheaper for them to use clay instead of paper or polystyrene.

The fabric shop!

Looking down one of the many alleyways in New Market.

And dinner last night was at an Itallian restaurant, and we had pizza, which cost around 400INR which is about $10 NZD.

So yesterday was a busy day, work finished at 2pm, and Judy and I went on the Metro (i.e. standing way too close for comfort up against men who stare at you) to meet Emma for lunch, before heading to New Market to do a bit of shopping. 

New Market is like a bazaar where you can buy many Western items, like food, clothes, items etc. We went so we could buy things like peanut butter, toilet paper and so on. I also really wanted to buy a scarf to wear around, as my first fabric purchase, so Emma took us to the shop above that you see, and the guy was so lovely! I am definitely going to go back there.

We headed back home after we became too tired, but the Metro we wanted didn't turn up. It is not uncommon that someone will throw themselves in front of the trains... So instead we got a taxi, who turned his meter off, much to Emma's frustration, and said we had to pay 90 rupees instead of what should have been about 50 if he had kept it on.

We eventually made it home, and then myself, Gabs, Judy, Nate, Justin and Pip went out for dinner. (It is Gabs' last week in India, hence all of the going out all of the time). It was really nice, but I was super tired.

On the metro home, Gabs and I were discussing men that harass girls, and told me what she tells them if they do to her (I won't repeat it on here, but it is pretty colourful). So funny! On the train we rode in the women's carriage, which was so much nicer.

I am not feeling 100% today, getting a bit of a headache. I think it is just because it has been a busy week, but guess what?? I have made it through my first week in Kolkata!!

And yes, many of my posts do include photos of food - and you will probably have to put up with seeing that for a while, until it all becomes normal for me... the food and the way they present things here is so amazing, I just have to document it!

I'm not missing home too much yet, but I do miss the familiar faces now and then.

Much love.

x