This place, Kolkata, India, is alive. Everywhere you look you see life. You see the motions, hear the noises, and smell the smells. The smells are constant from the potency of drying meat out in the hot sun literally cooking hanging in the open shops, to the smell of warm chai at Mother House, to the smell of rotting flesh and ammonia at Kaligaht. Smells are everywhere. These smells are constantly changing and being overwhelmed by other senses. For a city where very little changes, the smells, sights, tastes, and noises are forever changing.
The city seems to be at a constant sprint, treading hopelessly deeper into despair. The situation is so complex it is sometimes hard to see a solution or hope. And then there are moments when the simple smiles of the kids at Brother Xavier's, Sabera, and even at Daya Dan when all seems hopeful again. The kids have such enthusiasm and life in their eyes and smiles that one cannot help but be hopeful for this city of living contrasts.
Tomorrow, the people of Kolkata will go to the polls and vote in a Congressional election. For days, candidates have drawn crowds in the street shouting over large megaphones about change. The people are excited even though when you ask them about politics they will shrug it off and say they do not care. Although the people of Kolkata will not always openly voice it, they do seem to truly care about the future.
Here it is easy to get caught up in the simple and not so simple day to day tasks. It is hard enough for many just to survive from day to day. The election seems to allow the locals to escape the present for a moment and dream of a better tomorrow. As satisfying as it is to be volunteering and helping out a little here, it is nice to see the people excited and motivated to change their own lives. One can only hope that the resources, provided by people like Brother Xavier's and Sabera, will be able to aide the people in improving their own lives.
-Jerry