The Full Flip

After all the positive blogs last time around, I'm sure mine stuck out like a sore thumb. But don't worry, the moaning is well and truly over from me.

The sleep and anti-nausea pills that came right after the last blog really helped. India without your head to the pavement and your lunch on your shoes is really a magical place. The positivity, optimism and smiles you see around the city are truly awe-inspiring, and most people back at home with many more luxuries than a street begger could learn a thing or two about the true meaning of happiness.

So why the sudden change in opinion? It's simple. When in a bad mood, you constantly focus on the bad things that you see, feel and hear. Mr Skeen told me while walking down a crowded street to catch someones eye, smile, then watch for the reaction. The smiles and greetings I got in return really blew me away and I was able to feed off other's happiness. Since that moment the city has taken on a whole new light.

Kolkata is a city with a rich way of life. Often termed the "City of Joy," it is full of people making the most of everything they have. In a previous blog of Mr Skeen's, he mentioned the old lady that approached me outside Cafe Blue Sky while I was enjoying my breakfast for a second time in the wrong direction. After seeing the distress I was in, she did not in fact ask for money, but instead invited me to her home to share a small meal with her family for no cost. It is this love and spirit that has changed my views.

But while there are so many positives, one thing that brought us all crashing down after the highs at Freeset was the dead boy on the pavement. This had an odd effect on me. At the time, despite being so unusual, it did not register as being anything other than the norm. Still, as I sit in a small internet cafe bumping Angus Grant's elbows as I type this, the fact that not one local (or even myself) gave the boy a second look is disturbing. The city takes no prisoners and if you cannot eat, you die. What makes it worse however is that there is probably no one who is worried about him, or will mourn his passing. One of the boys asked a Jungle Crow what would happen to the body. They replied "When it starts to stink and be a nuisance, the rubbish men will pick it up". This is incredibly sad and definitely brought me back to earth with a bump.

On a brighter note, seeing the work that the fantastic people at Freeset do has been a great highlight. They go through a constant struggle to get women off the "line" and, unlike many of the products made in India (including the customized "Hanish" Indian cricket jersey I am currently wearing), their bags and shirts are of a high quality. I splashed out on two bags and since then I have realized that India is not the place to be an impulse shopper as I have burned through most of my money already.

The few hours spent with the Jungle Crows rugby team was also over much too early, and it made me realize that even though we live half a world away and under completely different circumstances, we are all the same, and it was great to spend time cracking jokes and talking rubbish with the boys. Two of the senior boys have a documentary coming out and they really are as amazing in real life as they are portrayed in the trailers.

So my attitude really has undertaken a full flip. My 200 rupee Casio watch, that I was assured was of the highest possible quality, is telling me that it is Thursday, really only two days since we arrived but it does seem like we have been here forever. However, later this afternoon we are heading to Future Hope, an organisation which takes kids off the street and puts them in school. It is something I am really looking forward to and I feel like it is going to be an experience that I will not forget in a hurry.

There are many more notable experiences that I simply don't have the time to cover, such as Harrison being hit by the least dangerous form of Indian transport, the human rickshaw and the great touch game we had on the Maidaan. 

So, India. What a fantastic place. I am now thinking about moving here permanently.

"Hanish" Fox