Sunday, December 11, 2011

Kolkata - Drive-by Shaving



Despite having arrived back from the Sunderbans around 10 pm, I was ready to go for a motorcycle tour through Kolkata early the following morning. It was the day of Diwali, so I was eager to see how this bustling cultural capital of India would celebrate this country-wide festival of lights.
On my walk over to the tour agency, I walked through a narrow street. One one side, people were sitting on makeshift stone benches, reading the paper. On the other, people were brushing their teeth, washing clothes and dishes, and getting a shave. Once you were done with your morning preparations, the stalls next door were available to serve you chai (sweet milky spiced tea) and various fried breakfast foods. If it hand’t been for the hand-carried rickshaws also plying through the same narrow lane, it could have been like walking through the bathroom and kitchen of a house.

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