Mr. & Mrs. Vandebilt + kids

We walked around Kolkata for our second day in the city. We headed out in search of Mother Theresa’s house and the orphanage run there. We were staying in a relatively nice area of town but the minute we crossed the main road everything changed.

The road is closer to an alleyway than a proper road. It winds and weaves it’s way through the city. The roads are full. Full of people, animals goats dogs and of course cows. There are cars, motorbikes, bicycles human drawn and motor powered rickshaws all competing for space. The sidewalks are covered in garbage dust and sludge from the rains the day before. Children are running and playing as they are let out from school. There are giant public baths on the side of the road where people come to bathe.

The shops that line the street are small and cramped. There are often a dozen people sitting inside the 10ft by 10ft shops. Everything is sold from sewing machine parts to fabric from bangles to meat. There are barbers sitting on stools ready to give you a quick shave and shoe shiners ready with the polish.

The smells are just as varied and ever changing. There is an odd mix of curry and something sweet. Often you get whiffs of the cows and goats or the sewers but it disappears as quickly as it came.

The problem with the description is it makes it sound dirty and hectic. It is both of those things but it’s not as dirty as it seems. Perhaps it’s just that the locals seem to take no pass of the garbage or the waste but it wasn’t as bothersome as one would think.

As we walked trough the streets we were often stopped. Children screamed and asked to have their pictures taken. They ran away delighted after seeing their image on the camera screen. Adults wanted to stop and chat wondering where we were from and what we thought of India. Most everyone smiled if eye contact was made.

The hardest part about wandering through the streets was the feeling that I was intruding. People do everything in the street. That’s where they cook and eat, buy their clothes and groceries, bathe and sometimes sleep. I felt like I was walking through their homes instead of just the street.