Mastering Kolcutta

This reminded me of my sister's parrot, Avi.  I love the parrot on the bus with the boy looking down at him, and I had to take the photo on the bus to Mother Teresa's house.  I was allowed only to photogragh her tomb, which is decorated with marigold petals that say, "Come Be My Light."  There was a prayer box into which I put a whole long list of people that I wanted prayers for; if you are reading this, I am certain that you were on that list!  When I left, there was the inevitable scam about a woman who needed food for her baby, and if I'd just step into thie clothing shop that just happened to have the milk formula for $10, etc...  I'm no sucker, and I suggested that I just return to the very lovely Sister Ann Francis at the Mother Teresa's House for verification...  I never saw the phoneys again!  Off I went to Esplanade where the kurtas sold along the street for only 150 rupees!  Then, I walked down to the Fine Arts Academy, a distance that I was assured was WAY too far to walk.  I think Indian woman do not walk anywhere, and far too many of them are really fat, rolls of flesh folding over their saris, visible for all to see while I am assiduously covering my legs and wearing sleeves everyday!  Where is the justice in this?

This is the coconut milk seller, hacking off the tops of the coconuts so they are standing at the ready for his customers; he pops the tops right back on after they are opened and now ready for drinking.  Yum.

Lunch time in Kolcata seems to go from about 11:30 to around 3:30, perhaps even all day long.  There were men whipping up momos, battering vegetables, tossing noodles and blending lassis everywhere I turned.  Where does one begin?  I had to have at least one mango lassi, several sweet chas, rice and veggies at lunch, and home for the grand papaya that I bought - hold your breath, Lisa - for $1.40!  And it was huge.

I waited until 3:00 for the Fine Arts Academy to open and went in to see a show of young artists, most of whom seemed to BE there, so we chatted, took photos, and I gave each of them a dollar because they were so interested in seeing what one LOOKED like.  Their paintings were really excellent; two did the most intricate, evocative watercolors, and the other painted in brilliant colors and had a message about a Hindu god killing off the bad guys that manipulate us through the media.  They were really dear young fellows, and I hope someday we will see their fine artistry on our side of the world!