Carol’s India Blog

 My last entry from India – I think. I left Koraput with tears and promises to continue to work for the organisation and return next year! My work colleagues gave me a lovely present and the two new volunteers who have been staying with me for a few days in my damp house, cooked a meal, Ali brought some beers and a Bacardi so we had a farewell drink, as I never drink alcohol here it seemed to go straight to my head! 

The train journey to Kolkata was to take 24 hours leaving at 6.45 am,  and I decided to spend a night in Kolkata so I could see the city and buy some presents, unless you want vegetables, rice of plastic buckets  there is nothing to buy in Koraput.  When I woke up on the train next morning I expected to be in Kolkata but we weren’t there so I surmised the train must be running late.  Strange that the man sleeping next to me had told me he would be ‘alighting the train at Tata at 1.30am’ and it was 7am and he was still there! Around about 8.30 someone told me that the train was running at least 10 hours late – maybe more!! The naxalites (the extremist Marxists or Maoists or CP  – they go by various names in the press but the people call them naxalites) had blown up a station and part of the line in orissa during the night and the railway system was in chaos. Just as well I decided to spend the night in Kolkata otherwise I would have been stuck in Koraput and missed my flight. There was no food or water on the train and as I had drank all my water and eaten the poori and potato dish Luna made me for the journey I was beginning to worry.  We stopped for over an hour in the middle of the countryside and, never ones to miss a commercial opportunity, people appeared from nowhere selling snacks and water, but it was not packaged water they were just filling up bottles, so I went without. The last thing I wanted was to be ill on that train!

We eventually arrived in Kolkata over 13 hours late, and because there was no space for the train to pull in at the main station (Howarth) we stopped at a small station further out. There were no coolies to carry my bags and no taxis! The only way to get out of the station seemed to be to cross the line – almost impossible with a suitcase of wheels, a large heavy bag, laptop case and 2 other small bags. I t was very dark and after 37 hours on the rain and only a bag of cashew nuts to eat all day I was ready for giving up and lying down on the track – but as usual lovely Indians came to my rescue. A very nice man carried my bags across the track and him and asked his driver o take me to my hotel, on the way we did the tour of Kolkata by night! This man and his colleague worked for a large company  (engineering/robotics company) based in south Wales, so they know Cardiff areas very well. Sometimes people’s kindness is embarrassing they want to do so much for you and other times (as in the market) they just want to rip you off and charge you 6 times as much as Indians will pay. One thing I have learnt living here is that human being are the same wherever you go (same emotions, some honest some dishonest, some you just seem to click with and others are hard work) The differences we show are shaped by our culture and our upbringing, and it’s almost impossible to leave it behind. Maybe the intrepid travellers amongst you knew that anyway!  I will certainly be much more understanding of people from other cultures and if I meet anyone who is living away from their homeland I will be much more welcoming ‘cos I know how lonely it can be.  Can’t wait to see my family and friends and the hills of home!

Over and out from India.