Kolkata (formerly Calcutta)
Originally posted April 15, 2003
Agnes and I decide to try potato curry and chapati from a street vendor. 4 rupees. (1 Canadian dollar is roughly 30 rupees.) It's good, until I eat the green bean on top. Turns out that the green bean is a green chili. Now we're running through the streets looking for something to drink. I'm panting.
After a few minutes we find a guy with a cart full of coconuts. Agnes orders one since I can't talk. I down it and slowly start to come out of my hallucinatory state. A few minutes later we're walking through the streets again - now with an empty coconut and a straw sticking out of it. We're looking for something that resembles a place to put garbage, aside from the floor. There are signs posted around the city sponsored by banks and other buinesses that read "This is your Kolkata, keep it clean." But these are signs. You'd figure one of these banks would sponsor a trash can. No such luck.
We come across a group of about 10 businessmen. They've just finished some kind of meeting and are waiting for taxis. We approach a man with a briefcase.
"Do you speak English?"
"A little."
"What do people do with garbage in Kolkata?"
Without flinching he points to a bit of sidewalk strewn with litter and says:
"Gargabe you can keep here."
He says this as if this particular spot is the one spot where garbage is stored. More from disbelief, but partly trying to indicate that he does not want to add to the disturbing amount of litter on the street, Warren asks:
"Oh, does someone pick garbage up from the streets?"
The answer comes as plainly as if Warren was asking 'Should I hit myself in the head with a hammer?'
"No, no."
And he gets into his cab and drives off.
Tomorrow's blog: The Indian Railway of Chaos ... dun, dun duunnn.
Originally posted April 15, 2003
Agnes and I decide to try potato curry and chapati from a street vendor. 4 rupees. (1 Canadian dollar is roughly 30 rupees.) It's good, until I eat the green bean on top. Turns out that the green bean is a green chili. Now we're running through the streets looking for something to drink. I'm panting.
After a few minutes we find a guy with a cart full of coconuts. Agnes orders one since I can't talk. I down it and slowly start to come out of my hallucinatory state. A few minutes later we're walking through the streets again - now with an empty coconut and a straw sticking out of it. We're looking for something that resembles a place to put garbage, aside from the floor. There are signs posted around the city sponsored by banks and other buinesses that read "This is your Kolkata, keep it clean." But these are signs. You'd figure one of these banks would sponsor a trash can. No such luck.
We come across a group of about 10 businessmen. They've just finished some kind of meeting and are waiting for taxis. We approach a man with a briefcase.
"Do you speak English?"
"A little."
"What do people do with garbage in Kolkata?"
Without flinching he points to a bit of sidewalk strewn with litter and says:
"Gargabe you can keep here."
He says this as if this particular spot is the one spot where garbage is stored. More from disbelief, but partly trying to indicate that he does not want to add to the disturbing amount of litter on the street, Warren asks:
"Oh, does someone pick garbage up from the streets?"
The answer comes as plainly as if Warren was asking 'Should I hit myself in the head with a hammer?'
"No, no."
And he gets into his cab and drives off.
Tomorrow's blog: The Indian Railway of Chaos ... dun, dun duunnn.
posted by warren | 7:07 PM
1 Comments:
Warren - congratulations man, you've outdone even yourself on this project and your determination to get this job is truly admirable. Your travel vids are awesome and photos so inspiring! I'd hire you if it were up to me - you're dedicated, hardworking, fun, and most importantly, a really cool guy. Good luck dude and I look forward to your next blog!
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