[meteorite-list] Oh, Calcutta

From: David Freeman <dfreeman_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:28:23 2004
Message-ID: <3F8431BD.3040402_at_fascination.com>

Dear Kevin;
Thanks for the post. Reading this brings back many memories of SE Asia.
 I just loved Singapore. Cultures, the lure of things not found in US:
 every good, bad, and ugly thing that momma warned me about.

Be careful Mike and watch the soup too!

Dave Freeman
Central Rocky Mountains, USA


MARSROX_at_aol.com wrote:

> Dear fellow travelers,
>
>
>
> I've been to Calcutta twice on my trips to Nepal and since there seems
> to be some interest in the city I'll contribute a few written
> snapshots. Mike's a lucky guy to be there.
>
>
>
> Mike has already noted the flooded streets. Like many Asian cities
> that are at or a few meters above sea level, the streets flood after
> almost any rain. And it is still monsoon season in India. They have
> sewers, but the volume of water overwhelms the capacity. You walk
> around in ankle deep water, the water is mixing with a fetid soup of
> human and animal (think free ranging cows in the city of Calcutta)
> "stuff." To make the act of walking more challenging, some of the
> manhole covers have been stolen to sell the metal to recyclers and
> every now and then someone falls into "The Black Hole of Calcutta."
> The natives definitely have "home court advantage" as they would know
> where the missing covers are.
>
>
>
> Watch your step, Mike.
>
>
>
> To Westerners, accustomed to their "space," the density of humanity is
> off the scale. Think of New Year's Eve at Times Square combined with
> New Orleans Mardi Gras Final Night, and add extreme heat and humidity
> to rotting garbage and other "exotic" odors. You are constantly
> jostled, constantly rubbing elbows and knees. And it's a bustling
> city, people are moving fast.
>
>
>
> The sense of poverty, again by western standards, is overwhelming. At
> night, people lay out a slice of cardboard onto the sidewalk,
> reserving their space, and camp out. A measurable percentage of the
> population has never tasted an ice cube - too expensive. The water
> vendors sell a common glass of "room temperature" water for a rupee.
> A family will survive on less than $1/day.
>
>
>
> Hand pulled rickshaws compete with taxis. Buses and trains go
> everywhere, heavy fumes, so crowded that people hang on such that they
> are outside or riding the roof. There's competition to give you a
> massage in every city park.
>
>
>
> Of course, things are changing, getting better. A middle-class has
> evolved, cell phones are everywhere. Employment is growing with the
> tech-based economy. There are "good neighborhoods," a few Mercedes.
> And people like to burn incense, how bad can it be?
>
>
>
> Calcutta is hardly the "worst" city in the world, (my vote for that
> today is Kabul) since the crowded masses and visitors have spectacular
> museums (Calcutta's National Museum has a huge meteorite collection),
> archeological splendors, gold-leaf covered Hindu temples,
> and delicious curries to sample. Most business people speak English.
> Signs and menus are also in English.
>
>
>
> Were I Mike, I'd spend a couple of days being a tourist in Calcutta on
> the way home, immersing myself in the culture, checking out the good
> (see the meteorites-including the main mass of Shergotty, 3.6 kgs.),
> and pondering the relativeness of human existence.
>
>
>
> Om padre hum,
>
>
>
> Kevin Kichinka
>
Received on Wed 08 Oct 2003 11:48:13 AM PDT