Will you calm down? You're not going to let a little near-death experience ruin your mood, are you? - Antz (1998)

This was probably the best stretch of tarmac

BUMP......

BUMP THUD BUMP.....

BUMP THUD BUMP BUMP....

Alright not the most descriptive way to describe the jeep ride from Jorethang to Darjeeling but I'm sure you get the gist. 

(Not to confuse you but even though Patrick and I shared the same jeep up to Darjeeling, we had two very different experiences. For this reason we'll both give our own accounts)

PATRICK: 

As dangerous and nerve wrecking the drive to Pelling was nothing compared us for what taking the back road to Darjeeling which was long.... very long, uncomfortable and at times down right scary, so needless to say I loved it! Unfortunately the same can't be said for my female companions, who I reassured over the course of 3/4 hours with the lines "just over the next ridge" or when it became dark "see those lights in the distance, that's it" countless times. To be honest I wondered if we would ever get there but we did and not to those lights in the distance (God only knows where that was). No we arrived  to dim, murky streets filled with people marching because oh yes, we decided to arrive during a government protest/power cut.

ELAINE:

It was horrendous. We climbed nearly 5,000 feet in 4 hours on dirt roads that were mostly pothole. On either side the drop was sheer and the jeep was wider than the road. We drove 1/4 in daylight, 1/4 in twilight and the other half in the pitch black of Indian night. There were times we literally thought this is the end. I would have committed murder for a hip flask. It didn't help that Patrick was in his element (which is apparently when he's about to die a horrible gasoline fueled death) and kept turning around saying "isn't this great". The sight of 3 green and murderous faces quickly shut him up. It was only when we got there (shaken legged and kissing the ground) that we learned we had taken THE BACK ROAD. Of course...

View of Darjeeling

Here we part ways with Stephanie and Jenny, as we had booked separate accommodation due it being my birthday and Elaine wanting us to enjoy some luxury (cue fluffy beds, room service and a fireplace).

Aka - Heaven...

The following day we woke (thankful to be alive) and looked out what can only be described as a city in the sky. At an elevation of 6402ft above sea level, we were literally up in the clouds. I don't know how a city could develop in a region like it. So we got up and decided to visit the zoo (when I say decided, it was more forced, as the government protests result in strikes and most business' closing). So off we went, heading it seemed with everyone else visiting Darjeeling, to the zoo.

We're going to the Zoo zoo zoo, how about you?

Patrick reconnecting
with the primitive version
of himself

Elaine doing her
Norman Bates impression

It must be said we have our reservations about zoos,  the idea of a wild animal being confined seems outdated to some extent, especially with how close documentaries can get now-a-days, but this zoo also acts as a breeding & conservation centre so you are funding a good cause. Plus seeing a tiger in the flesh really makes you appreciate the animal and the dangers of it becoming extinct. The zoo was small with bears, leopards, wolves and monkeys, but every animal there was at some stage indigenous to the area before hunting and development took its toll.

We also visited the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute which was founded by Tensing Norgay, who accompanied (yer man) to the top of Mt. Everest. It was small but surprisingly interesting, with displays of the clothing mountaineers used wear back in the day. Two  words - Hard. Core. These guys basically climbed to the top of the world in sub zero temperatures wearing tweed suits. But the award for the most bizarre artifact in the museum was a telescope gifted to India by Hitler. Huh...

Wonders and Treasures to be found

We then spent much of the day trying to find somewhere to eat that was actually open whilst browsing some of the few open stalls. There was a bit of tooing and froing but we did find an absolute gem in the form of Aladdin's cave. We stumbled across this ancient tiny shop, I've seen bigger en-suite bathrooms, that was jam packed with the most fascinating wares; miniature jewel encrusted elephants, hundreds of rolled up tapestries, scary antique Himalayan masks. There was maybe 3 square feet of walking space and the owner told us he hadn't done a stock take in years. Patrick bought an original Gurkha fighting knife. Ancient looking and in need of a good sharpen, we were told the family had sold it in need of the money. Feel bad? Nope, it's really cool! Will be interesting getting it through the various customs in the various countries though...

So time went too fast and soon we were back on the train to Kolkata, back to the heat that we had scorned on the way up but were dying to get back to after six days at 7 degrees. Brrrrr!

Patrick (30th of November 2010)

Post Script: The opening lines "BUMP THUD BUMP....." Elaine wanted to put in a BAMP and a BOMP (Elaine - to emphasise the bumpiness!) Are these words?

Help settle an argument and comment your thoughts below. 

The hills are alive, with The Sound Of Music - Moulin Rouge! (2001)

Cheeky Monkeys

We're in Kolkata 6 weeks so far and as any volunteer knows, 6 weeks in Kolkata means one thing. Time for a break; so with it being Paticks birthday on the 29th, we've decided to head for the hills. Specifically - the Himalayas... It's all arranged; trains have been booked, accommodation found, bags backed. We are heading to Darjeeling.

So myself, Patrick, Gora, Jenny and Stephanie get on a 10 hour train, go the 600km up north to New Jalpaiguri, where we get a private jeep to Pelling in the Sikkim province. This is where the fun starts. The road to Pelling is notorious. A 4-5 hour drive, best done in the early morning because in the dark it's hard to tell which is the road and which is the sheer drop down hundreds of feet, into the hillside. But to be fair it's hard to distinguish that during the day too. It was a stunning drive, full of beautiful vistas, roadside restaurants, remote temples and rows of cheeky monkeys swinging tree to tree. But you'd want nerves of steel, or at least a hip-flask to keep you going. Our driver was great, really knew the road and drove at a steady pace but there have been plenty of accidents with packed jeeps going over the edge. Not even worth thinking about to be honest...

How much do you trust your driver?

But nonetheless we arrive in Pelling unscathed. Pelling is gorgeous, tranquil, laid back, with views of Kanchenjunga (the worlds 3rd highest mountain). You wouldn't even think you're in India, never mind the same state as Kolkata. And it is FREEZING. I mean we have clearly been spoiled in Kolkata with the 28 degree heat. It' about 10 degrees here and within 3 minutes we're all huddled around the stove in the hotel demanding soups and hot chocolate. One thing is clear - we are going to die from this cold...

Himalayan Foothills

Pelling at dusk

But I've jumped ahead. We stayed in the fantastic Hotel Kabur, ran by identical twin brothers Dipen and Dipesh. The hotel/hostel had the best views of the mountains, great atmosphere; the staff was extremely helpful and best of all? The food! Oh Good God it was amazing. We ate 3 meals there every day. Wouldn't even contemplate going anywhere else...

As I’ve already said the staff were extremely helpful and on day 2 Dipen took us on a tour of Pelling and the surrounding villages. We were cruising around mountains, overlooking rice fields and forrests to the sound of a Buddhist chanting CD. It was really relaxing. Or was until Gora demanded some Bob Marley and that changed the tempo of things considerably. We saw some impressive waterfalls, gorgeous views and at the end of our tour we went to one of Sikkims holiest sights. A Buddhist temple, on the grounds of which is Khecheopalri Lake - a lake whose origins come from Buddha’s footprint. Buddhist prayer flags fluttered in the wind and in the distance you could hear the monks singing. It was an awe inspiring place.

Elaine spinning a prayer wheel

By day 3 and we are hitting the road again, this time for Darjeeling. Gora is staying on in Pelling to chill out (he's been to Darjeeling over 40 times). Ideally Patrick and I would have stayed too but Darjeeling beckons, as does work on Tuesday. We drive down the mountain back to the main city of Gantok to get a shared jeep to Darjeeling. Except they've all left for the day, and we've left it very late, so we get a private one instead. The important part of the last sentence is that we've left it very late, remember what I’ve said above about driving in the dark???

The extra 2 hours we had in bed this morning so wasn't worth what we went through on the drive to Darjeeling.

To be continued...

Elaine (27th of November 2010)

The view from our room of Kanchenjunga

The only rules that really matter are these: what a man can do and what a man can't do. - Pirates of the Caribbean (2003)

Right now it's my turn to discuss my projects and give you a better idea of what it is I do but before I begin I need to clarify that it's Tropico 2 that I'm playing which is even more fun as you get to be a pirate, Yaaarrgh!!! So with that being said, let us proceed.

I mainly work in 3 different projects: Howrah Drop In Centre, Small Boys Home and Punorjibon. Being one of two male volunteers here at the minute and Liam arriving to co-ordinate the English curriculum, I feel I have an obligation to provide some form of male interaction to the boys.

Moni and Shona messing about
outside the DIC

Howrah Drop In Centre:

Picture of myself and Rahul
taken by one of the boys

I make the long trip accross Howrah Bridge twice a week, it can take up to an hour or more to get from Tollygunge to the DIC  but well worth it. It's difficult to assertain exactly what is required in Howrah due to it being a drop in centre and the numbers in attendance change everytime I visit, but mostly I just focus on giving the boys some form of positive attention. Be it through drawing and colouring which they enjoy, going to a nearby park to play football or running a photography project with them, the core aim is to allow them to become comfortable with you and hopefully encourage them to seek assistance from Hope when they feel they need it. Worksheets with basic English grammar and words are always brought and sometimes used, but this is at the boys' discretion.

Small Boys Home:
I teach some basic computer skills to a group of 6 boys 4 days a week, Monday to Thursday. The boys are a challenge I will admit, aged between 8 and 11 the boys as you would expect have only one interest when it comes to computers and that is..... you guessed it! PLAY GAMES!

Messing with Soubagya and Bishu

Now I love games and if I wanted myself, Subho, Biswajit, Soubagya, Bishu, Ramjan Sk and Chak Rada would spent 2 hours a morning taking turns playing some classic Sega games but instead I have to fight them on the merits of learning Microsoft Word. As you can imagine it is difficult but even more so due to the fact that they are pretty good at it already thanks  to previous volunteers. Luckily they recently received a scanner printer which has drawn their focus but I doubt the House Father, Suman, would be very impressed to hear the boys spend their time photocopying (xeroxing as it's known here) pictures of the famous  Bengali actor Dev...

Photoshop Class

Punorjibon:
Commonly known as my second home considering the amount of time I spend there on a daily basis. I spend 7pm to 9pm aka dinner time, Monday to Friday, running a photoshop class with any of boys who are interested in learning. I began with one boy, Biswajit (who has no need for me such is his talent) and now the number of sttudents has gone up to 12.

L to R: Biswajit, Jagdish, Deepak,
Tapan and Ankush

On Mondays and Fridays I also run English classes similar to Elaine, on Mondays I work with Jagdish and Sujan (who I'm pretty sure Elaine is trying to steal from me) and Fridays it's Bapan and Ankushs' turn, these are one to ones as each boy has his own level of understanding and they can be self conscious in groups.
And finally Tuesday and Thursday after lunch I work with a number of boys in regards to weights and fitness. This is very relaxed and I just try to put across what exercises hit what muscle groups and how to maintain technique. Overall they're a great bunch and are always willing to learn, bar it being dinner & tv time.


So that is my week in a nutshell, sometimes I supplement this with office work but that is depending on their need for me at any specific time.

Patrick (17th of November 2010)

I have five lessons to teach. What lessons they learn is entirely up to them. - Nanny McPhee (2005)

So we've been here 2 months at this stage so we thought we'd do a brief run through of our projects and the work we do. (Well here's mine, Patrick will do his once he has finished playing Tropico)

Altogether I work on 4 different projects 5 days a week, all of them involving teaching English in varying levels.

Tollygunge Nabadisha:

Nabadisha Cuties

Hope runs four Nabadishas in Kolkata, one of which is in Tollygunge (15 mins walk from my flat). This project is for children who live in the nearby slums who do not go to school. Set up in conjunction with the local police, and housed in the local police stations, this is a ground level education project and possibly one of Hopes most important. The children who attend Nabadisha's do so on a voluntary basis so the emphasis is on a fun, pressure free learning environment, that the children will want to return to.

I work in Tollygunge Nabadisha 5 times in the week, working with two sets of children. Three mornings a week I work with 8-12 children ranging from 2years to 6years old. My aim here is to teach basic creche English to prepare the children for structured education while also keeping the younger children busy so the teachers have uninterrupted time to teach the older children.

Oldre Tollygunge Kids

Two evenings a week I am back in the Nabadisha teaching English but this time to older kids. I have a group of 6 kids, who have very good English. This makes for a different teaching experience, as I can actually converse and debate with them as opposed to constantly saying "The duck is yellow. What colour?
YE-LL-OW.

Punorjibon:
As we've already gone through, Punorjibon is a home for boys who have come out of rehabilitation for glue addiction. I come here 5 times a week to teach English one on one. Group classes wouldn't really work in Punorjibon as all the boys have varying degrees of written and spoken English. In my class I have Sujon and Polash - Sujon has very good written English and Polash has very good spoken English. I put the two boys into the same class together with the idea that that they'd help each other but they are two messers and when I ask one to explain something to the other I'm pretty sure what they are saying is not what i've asked. Sometimes they try to teach me Bengali phrases but when I repeat them they usually dissolve into laughter, I don't even want to think about what i'm saying...

Imran doing his ABC's

Then I teach Saddam who is a lovely boy, so eager to learn and Arvind. Arvind loves to read so I have him reading Roald Dahl which he thinks is hilarious but makes for awkward teaching when he asks me to explain words or phrases.
At the moment we're reading the Twits and he asked me about the sentence "Dirty old hags like Mrs Twitt are always scratching their stomachs". I almost died from embarrassment - Arvind laughed his head off. My last student in Punorjibon is Imran. Imran is the newest boy to come through rehab, in fact I knew him from my last stay here when he would have been on drugs and living on Howrah platform. He went to detox because he wanted to become a carpenter so now he's living in Punorjibon learning his ABC's with me. He's funny because the minute I walk in the door he'll drag me to the classroom, i'll teach him for an hour then he'll tell me ok, thank you and push me out the door, Literally.

Seed Girls Home:

Hugs at SEED

Anyone who got my emails from the last time I was in Kolkata will know all about Seed Girls Home so I won't bore you again. A protection home for at risk girls in Howrah, I go here twice a week. Currently there is 13 girls so I split them into 2 groups depending on their English. There has been a new addition in the form of Rabiya so now I have 3 classes as Rabiya has no English. The girls here are great, very fun loving, affectionate and eager to learn. Also because the home is outside Kolkata and i'm there during lunch time, the lovely housemothers give me my lunch too. Twice a week it is some of the nicest food i've ever eaten - sorry Mam but it's true!

Panditya Coaching Center:

Meditation at the Nabadisha

Hope runs several coaching centers around Kolkata, with an aim to giving slum children who go to school an extra hand with their education. In India, a child is placed into a class depending on age not ability, and will continue to go up in class as the years go on, regardless of how suited to the learning level the child is. Hope runs coaching centers in the mornings and the evenings, to provide extra classes in various subjects and help with homework, along with counselling and hygiene studies. Also the children get a meal as they leave, an extra incentive for the parents to allow the children to continue with education.

I teach English in Panditya Coaching Center 3 times a week, 2 classes an evening. It is very enjoyable and as close to teaching in a secondary school as I can image, the kids here are all teenagers and there is a lot of hormones flying around the classroom. Makes for interesting teaching!

Elaine (15th of November 2010)

Dance, dance, dance until you die! - Hocus Pocus (1993)

Today has been the most amazing day of our trip, so far. It started off with Hope’s annual Foundation Day and this year marked its 11th year in Kolkata. A huge auditorium in Science City was rented out and over 2,500 Hope children were bought for the morning to dance and sing as part of a Hope celebratory show. The children themselves have been practicing and rehearsing with their choreographers for over 3 months in preparation for this day – the excitement in the weeks leading up to this was palpable.

Patrick with Soubagya, Jagdish
 and Bishu

So we get up early on a Saturday, make an effort with our appearance (something that is unheard when volunteering in Kolkata) and we head to Science City. It’s fantastic to have all of the kids from the projects together in the one place and we spend the first part of the morning running around saying hello to our kids, being introduced to their friends and meeting each other’s project kids. Patrick and I both get some knowing looks when we introduce each other to our kids with the braver ones coming up afterwards to whisper “Auntie, your boyfriend”??

One of a number of traditional acts

We take our seats and after some speeches honouring Hope, its founders, contributors and the children themselves, the show begins. Now we were expecting something like a usual children’s show – a little boring till a child you know comes on, whereon you go mad clapping with pride etc… This was not the usual children’s show. They were Out Of This World. The music, costumes, props, choreography was just fantastic and halfway through the show most of the kids in the audience were out of their seats dancing in the aisles.  A particular favourite was a mash up between Waka Waka and Waving Flag – everyone just went crazy for that. And of course… Jai Ho!

All the Hope homes were represented and this included SICW – a home for children of which the Hope Foundation funds their special needs unit. The children came on stage, those who could walk danced and those who couldn’t were carried around by the nursing staff. The song they chose was the poem “All Things Bright and Beautiful” from Alexander’s Hymns For Little Children;

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

Group photo of volunteers

That night we were invited by Gora (the man, the legend) to his family celebrations of Kali Puja/Diwali (Kali Puja is the feast day of the god Kali and Diwali is the festival of lights – depending on who your personal god is either Kali Puja or Diwali is celebrated). So off the 14 volunteers trooped, to what we thought would be a small, low key party in someone’s house or flat.

Live music in front of Kali's alter

Eh No… We arrived to a party, so big that the crowed had spilled onto the streets, with passer-by’s stopped, looking in the windows. We met Gora’s cousin Raja who had organised the puja party and he brought us through to where the band was playing. We sat, mesmerised at the band who were a funky Indian group, sang upbeat songs that were obviously devoted to Kali. It was very intense and very enjoyable. After a while people got up and started dancing and one by one we were pulled onto the dance floor and made dance. What started off as awkward shuffling (it wasn’t Havana Browns on a Saturday night) ended up with us shaking the hips and really getting into it. This was all part of the ceremony to Kali, the dancing and burning of incense and food offerings before immersing Kali in the Ganges.

Elaine finding the eye burning
smoke less appealing than others

So we danced. And danced. And danced! We danced till we were bordering on dehydration. Then they lit the bowls of incense and danced around the room with them. It stung the eyes something awful so we had decided to make our exit to fresh air when they passed the bowl to Patrick and we had to dance all over again while Patrick shook his arse around the room. We made our escape to the roof where we chatted and watched the fireworks for about an hour, when we got word that the immersion was about to start so we filed down the stairs and out into the street where a crowd had gathered around the idol Kali who had been moved from her place of honour on the altar to the back of an open bed truck to be taken to the Ganges.

Patrick getting in with the natives!

So we danced. And danced. And danced! We danced till we were bordering on dehydration. Yes I know that’s repetitious of me but it’s what we did. The truck drove at about 5km an hour and we danced behind it for about 4km while the people on the truck passed out sparklers and set off fireworks. This was about half 1 in the morning but people didn’t seem to mind the noise levels – Hey it’s Diwali! We danced so much that at one stage I honestly forgot how to walk normally without some sort of jiggle going on.

Dancing in the streets (with Gora leading the celebrations)

About an hour of dancing later we all piled onto the back of the truck (about 20 of us) and headed to the nearest tributary of the Ganges. After about 3 solid hours of dancing, going 30km an hour on the back of a truck in the cool of night was heavenly. Except for when we had to go over a set of speed bumps which left some bruises. We reach the Ganges, where we wait for more prayers – thankfully there was a chai man set up so we waited in relative comfort with cups of sugar laced tea. The stillness of the river was a well needed contrast to the madness of the previous hours.

One of a number of
different spellings for Diwali

Kali is ready to be immersed. She is lifted down by about 8 men and bought to the river mouth, turned several times before immersed in the water and pushed out to sea. We break into applause which soon turns to shrieks as the men start to ‘bless’ us with holy Ganges water. To those who may not be familiar with the Ganges hygiene statistics I’ll enlighten you – water that is safe for bathing should have less than 500 faecal coliform bacteria in every litre of water. Samples show that the Ganges has 1.5 million. So blessed us is right but seeing as I have lived to tell the tale, I’m going to chalk it up to experience.

It’s now after 3 and we’re all wrecked after our day so we head back to where the party began (20 of us in the truck again, but this time we’re minus Kali so it’s more comfortable) to get taxis to our leabas. We get there and are about to get into the taxi when we’re asked the best question that can be asked at 3:20am – are you hungry?? Of course we are! We’re invited to the final section of the night – the dinner. Rice, dal, pompodoms, potato curry and mutton curry - . It was quite possibly the nicest meal I’ve ever eaten. We ate till we were fit to burst, thanked our hosts, got in a taxi and hit the hay. It will need to be one hell of a trip if if anything is going to top that night.

Elaine (7th of November 2010)