Hotel Venkateswara Kolkata (Calcutta)

... really nice beautiful Japanese girls here but I also want to get out of the city and start trekking in Nepal.

Kolkata is a difficult place to stay because of the amount of poverty you see everywhere. On every street people sleep on the pavement. Also there are alot of beggars and hand pulled rickshaw drivers who call you wherever you go. It's difficult to find a peace on the streets except late at nicht or early in the morning.

... a large number of lizards that just hang out on the walls here and of course loads of stray dogs and cats. Last weekend I bought some cat food (puppy food as supermarkets over here don't sell cat food) & people at Antara genuinely cannot understand why on earth I would go out of my way to buy cat food - animals aren't really seen as pets over here so they think I'm mad! There are mozis everywhere and I have been bitten a lot even though - yes Mum - I am applying ...

... style block building) turned out to be a ventilated sanctuary of calm. The woman's original art decorated the simple but spacious sitting room. Their large, well-maintained garden outside was full of all types of cool plants. Switching gears: mad shopping today! Plus tonight I splurged on some traditional Bengali scroll paintings. The artists had taken the train from their village all the way to the big city to do business with us- and this delicate artwork is tough to transport. They ...

Lucky us, our lovely friend Rumi said we could stay in her family's flat in Calcutta. Arriving 4 hours late on our train, instead of the usual hassle of finding taxis and hotels, we were met by Robin, who works for Rumi's family and navigated into a correctly metred taxi, and whisked throught the madness of Calcutta to the calmness of the Bose family flat. Great to be able to make a nice cup of tea! Calcutta is a large, bustling city, and reminded us very much of Mumbai, with its ...

... so they are hungry. Neat rows of children and elderly are sitting on the ground under the tent with cut and washed sections of banana leaf laid on the ground in front of them, waiting to be served. Baba leads us all in a chorus of Jai Baba Lokenath, blesses the food, and begins ladling huge scoops of lentils with vegetables and rice. Then we retire to our rooms to have lunch and a brief rest. It is 3 pm. The remaining villagers will eat now. All 8,000 of them. Next: The Festival Program.

... it will all bring you home. Trust will happen eventually, in its time. Trust in Life will happen. Trust in yourself will happen. Trust in the Divine unfolding will happen. It is a given. It is inevitable. It is your birthright. If it does not happen in this life, it will in another life. So relax, and sit in the Presence. Baba got up, fixed himself a bowl of muri (hand-puffed rice), went back to KrishnapriyaMa's room, and called me to join them. KrishapriyaMa was glowing, playful ...

From one ex commie state to another. Life moves in funny ways. Who would believe that I was in Liths one day, and the next in Kolkata !!! And before you say anything telling me I am wrong, check the history books, Kolkata is the longest running democratically elected communist state in the world !!! And now back to the story. Kolkata Yes we are both here, back in India for the fourth time. Actually, it was ...

... each other's beliefs. The people and groups that I have come in contact with want each Hindu to be the best Hindu possible, each Muslim to be the best Muslim possible, each Christian to be the best Christian possible and so on. This resonates very strongly with my own beliefs and my own interfaith work. It pleases me that the Interfaith Initiative in Santa Barbara was observing a Ramadan Dinner at the same time I was here learning about the richness of respect ...

... trying to ban cheerleaders! Yep ban it because it is too suggestive!!! *Visited an orphanage. The work of the orphanage was fantastic, it was open to street children. The children were offered the opportunity of a full education or a basic education and trained in a trade/ skill/craft. It was a fantastic place and any money made from the sale of the boys crafts was directly put into a bank account so when the ...

... our guest house, and it was locked up. We tried ringing a bell, but it didnt work. We tried yelling up (its on the fourth floor and we were on the bottom) but no one came. We hung out for a half an hour laughing about the situation. A local man, homeless and maybe drunk, came over and told us over and over, in very broken engligh, that they will open in the morning. I walked out into the street to collect some bricks so I would have a pillow to rest on. It really was comical ...