Kichuri: It’s what’s for lunch. And dinner. And in between.

October 14th, 2005 | By Joshua | No Comments »

I’ve mentioned “kichuri,” the ubiquitous Bengali dish, several times and, partly in response to my mother-in-law’s request, and partly because we’ve been served so much kichuri during this past puja that I’m surprised it’s not coming out of our ears, I decided to offer you a taste.
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The U.S. Government: Raising Anxiety Around the World

October 13th, 2005 | By Joshua | No Comments »

You’re not alone, New York—unsubstantiated fear-mongering knows no national boundaries, especially when it involves indistinct and uncertain terrorist alerts from mysterious sources. On October 10, 2005, the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi issued the following Warden Message:
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India News: A Poem from Today’s Headlines

October 13th, 2005 | By Joshua | No Comments »

TWENTY-NINE HEADLINES (AND ONE CAPTION)

Death for Bali bombers, cries mob on rampage
Al Gore not in the race
Chinese duo in space
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Our Other Roommate: Shelob the Shaggy

October 12th, 2005 | By Joshua | No Comments »

The first time we met Shelob, we murdered several thousand of her children—freshly hatched spiderlings which were seething over one corner of our bathroom. We washed them down the drain, but took mercy on Mama who watched from the wall, deflated egg sac oozing fluid on her hairy abdomen.
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Durga Puja: Praying to the Demon Slayer

October 11th, 2005 | By Joshua | 4 Comments »

Fiercest of all Goddesses, consort of Shiva the Destroyer & Source of the Universe, Durga is the most revered deity in all of West Bengal. Bengalis’ year-round worship of Dame Durga peaks in a week of celebration that could be described as a colorful Indian cross between Christmas, Carnival, and Fashion Week. The event, known as Durga Puja, kicks off a month of holidays honoring other various deities, and is celebrated throughout West Bengal, from the poorest tea garden labor-line to the grand parades in Calcutta. Preparations for and anticipation of Durga Puja have marked our entire two-month stay in Birpara, and the event itself (which began last Sunday) also marks our final week in town.
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Traveling with American Jewish World Service

October 7th, 2005 | By Joshua | 6 Comments »

Our work on the “labor lines,” as the palm-lined neighborhoods of plantation-provided row houses are called, begins at four in the afternoon, when the tea workers come home from the fields and factory. My wife, Tay, our two Indian translators, and I are usually invited into someone’s home (for a hot cup of tea, of course) before spending the next three hours walking from house to house, interviewing families about their diets, health, recent deaths, and what (if any) relief services they are receiving from the government. As the most disenfranchised of the country’s entire organized labor force, tea workers have suffered more than anybody else in the current industry crisis.
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Outstanding Article about the Indian Tea Crisis

October 7th, 2005 | By Joshua | No Comments »

“A Machete, A Uterus, and Indian Tea,” by Charles Norman Todd, is an excellent breakdown that explains why the workers are starving.

Bengali Winter: The North Winds are A-Blowin’

October 6th, 2005 | By Joshua | No Comments »

We said goodbye to Sarmishtha and Debasish on the first day of winter. Or close to it, anyway. It was raining and fifteen degrees colder than the previous morning as the four of us got up to prepare for our trip to the train station in New Jalpaiguri (NPJ). There Bulbulda, Tay, and I (and our new driver, Raju—Mohammed got sacked after five days) would see our friends off that evening.
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The Man Who Sells Me My Toilet Paper

October 5th, 2005 | By Joshua | No Comments »

Note the tee-shirt-resting-on-the-belly method of keeping cool, an extremely popular practice in both Nicaragua and West Virginia.
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Map: Birpara Town, Jalpaiguri District, North Bengal

October 4th, 2005 | By Joshua | 6 Comments »

When I showed my map of Birpara to Tay, and asked her if I’d missed anything, I was startled when she immediately declared “Yes!” and went on to list everything that was omitted: trucks, cows, rickshaws, bicycles, people, honking, piles of shit…
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