I noticed the same response of several hotel employees: “It is my duty.” In Kolkata’s Jameson Inn, I thanked the front desk clerk: “You all were very helpful in our… Read more

Warning: Long Blog After several weeks of voting, on March 11th the election results in five Indian states for each state’s assembly have been released. Besides determining which individuals and… Read more

2. First overnight train ride where I didn’t share a 70-passenger coach with 69 others including crying babies and shouting 2AM boarders moving into the berth across from me. 3.… Read more

“Lions, Tigers, Bears, Oh My” exclaims Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. If I change the list of animals, I exclaim the same thing in India. My brother and I… Read more

If a person asks an Indian “what do you think about your country?”, then at some point in the conversation the person mentions corruption. In my limited conversations and reading,… Read more

Darjeeling is the “Queen of the Hills.” It was one of the most famous of the British hill stations, places developed as respites from the hot climates. At 6700 feet,… Read more

The Ramakrishna Mission is a middle-aged Indian religious service organization. Over the years, it has impressively tried to put into practice the practical philosophy of Swami Vivekananda. Vivekananda wrote: “Do… Read more

Thomas Merton, the great Roman Catholic poet, contemplative, and social critic, creates one frame for viewing Kolkata. This evocative paragraph about Kolkata comes from his 1967 Asian Journal. “Calcutta, smiling, fecal,… Read more

I walk through the alleyways of Kumartuli in northern Kolkata a few minutes from the Hooghly River. I watch the potters responsible for making many of Kolkata’s Kali, Durga, Shiva… Read more