Well it's been some time since I've blogged, and there is just too much that happens in India that I can't go that long without forgetting! I'll highlight for you what the happenin in India as of lately. So, this past Wednesday, we received the fabulous joy of seeing "Swan Lake". Folks, this was not your typical "Swan Lake." This was Indian style, which means it was filled with flavor and spice and tap, flamenco, lyrical and all that jazz. It was beautiful, and I truly enjoyed watching the lead "swan" woman dance, but it really didn't make that much sense. I know the story behind "Swan Lake" thanks to The Swan Princess and Black Swan, but the ending to this production didn't make any sense to me. In fact, I thought it was intermission. It just shows how artsy and hip I am.
On Thursday, I was confronted with what may possibly have been my greatest challenge in India thus far. I played Cricket. Yes, that’s right ladies and gents. I, Becca Lais, played Indian Cricket. This was no ordinary game of Cricket, however, because the team that we played against redefined the word “intense”. It was a couple of us foreign gals along with several Indian women and our friend Ishani. Except for Ishani, it was everyone’s first time playing Cricket. This was not so for the other team. Apparently, they had been practicing for quite some time and were ready to rock and roll. I found out that I am not too bad of a pitcher…though I’m not sure that that’s true, because I think Ishani was just being nice. Anyways, watch out super-intense Cricket team, next time, I’ll be waiting by the wickets, ready for you.
Friday, I tore up the dance floor. We have this club in Salt Lake called Afraa, and it is a sweet hang out for the ladies on Friday nights. So, every Friday there is two free mixed drinks for the ladies, and guess what I got: The Afraa Liplock. Virgin. I have no idea what it was, but I trusted it since it wasn’t alcoholic. It was delicious, and next time, I’m springing for a Shirley Temple. We were in a group of 7, and we entered the dance floor with a mission: to leave every Indian on the dance floor in awe. Did we accomplish our mission? How silly that you even question that. We, at one point, had everyone off the dance floor, staring at our hippity hoppity bomb dance moves. Or maybe they were just frightened by our crumping Beyoncé and moonwalking MJ. We left that dance floor in lake of sweat.
Saturday was the day that I liberated my palate. Drew, Rita, Brenna and I traveled to Burrabazar, which is a back alley- maze market. The streets are extremely narrow; there are packages of mysteries balancing on men’s heads almost knock you senseless, carts of goodies threatening to grab your big toe, and Indian people playing bumper cars with your shoulders. It was marvelous. My favorite part is when we were on our way to the huge bridge over the river, and we were walking down this street that smelled of apple cinnamon and old spices. It had handmade soap, spices, colored powder for the holiday, water guns, random food we’d never seen, and it was all so rich and fresh. Brenna and I plan to return so we can breathe it all in. Near the bridge, Brenna and I saw that a man was selling fresh fruit, including…WATERMELON. This just proved far too tempting for my taste buds and Brenna’s as well, so we broke the cardinal rule, and we ate STREET FRUIT. Woe is my stomach, except that this iron take I’ve built up over the past two months handled the fruit like a champ.
Saturday night Brenna and I spent the evening in Kavi Nazrul with our friend, Shreya who we meet at St. Xavier’s. I’d never taken the metro that far south into Kolkata, and I discovered that the metro opens into the outdoors as well! There I am just standing on the metro staring at the same dark tunnel I do every day, when all of a sudden I see GREEN PALM TREES! It truly was a small treasure. Shreya had friends over and we sat and listened to them speak and sing Bangla, which was lovely. Shreya’s parents are extremely generous and wonderful, and her mom made the most mouth-watering custard. She knows the soft spot of my tummy. It was so interesting to spend the night in a flat that is in the city. I’m not used to lots of noise at night, and it actually didn’t bother me at all. I enjoyed hearing it, because it reminded me that other people were up while I was going to bed. The ode of Kolkata singing me sweetly to sleep.
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