Carol’s India Blog

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer – long warm days, beautiful sunsets and holidays. Over here we have very, very hot short days (it gets dark around 6.30) beautiful sunsets and no holidays but lots of religious festivals!  This week we have the big festival Ratha Yatra, when the Mighty Lord Jagannath leaves the temple and goes out and about fro 15days. He has been suffering from a fever (hence the high temperatures) and when he is recovers he gets a wash, new clothes and rides around on his vehicle  - a pig. This is supposed to signal the beginning of the monsoon and a drop in temperature, but the monsoon is late. We have had few dramatic storms but that’s all so there are articles in the paper every day and much tutting and worrying in the office. No rain means poor yield and less food so it’s very important.

Last weekend I took the overnight train and visited my VSO pal Anna in Berhampur, who is finishing her placement and leaving India.  I am always intrigued by the amount of luggage Indians have – it’s the same on the internal flights – what on earth can be in all those boxes tied up with string, sacks, carrier bags and cases!  The train left at 6.30pm and around about 8 pm out came the tiffin tins with enough food to feed the entire train. They had chapattis, roti, chana masala. mushroom chilly, veg curry, dal, pickles and goodness knows what else! I had my banana and my bottle of water.  After the food the ritual of making up the beds began (always done by the men the woman do nothing except sit) and by 9.30 they were all asleep. Their ability to sleep anywhere amazes me – I guess it comes from a lifetime of sleeping on bed rolls on the floor. Soon the carriage was filled with 60 or so different snores. I actually slept most of the way but was glad when we arrived as the toilets on the trains are amongst the most disgusting I have encountered. I am going to have to get over my sensitivities because when I go to the VSO volunteer conference I will be on the train for 3 consecutive nights and 2 days so I may have to go for a wee!

I had a lovely weekend with Anna and we went to our favourite place – Golpalpur on Sea – where we were set upon by a dog and had to be rescued by 2 police women with batons. Bit scary but very amusing for the locals –  2 white women scared of a dog.  They were taking photos on their mobile phones instead of rescuing us!

I am now back in Koraput and back to the boredom of life in a bed and breakfast (without the breakfast and the TV) The most difficult aspect is the  boredom and being a woman I can’t go and wander about the town after dark or play football or cricket with the locals in the park and eating alone in the scruffy cafes (don’t even think about the kitchen) is not on either so evenings and Sundays are pretty grim in the guest house. Fortunately there is another volunteer here and he invites me round for something to eat twice a week, and on the 1^stJuly I will have more pals as the yanks are coming. Pragati have a house organized for them because they are a couple and from the US therefore they can’t possibly stay in the guest house! Maybe they will take pity on me and invite me over.