Off to See The “Vizzard”

Last night was the long-awaited night of the Dolna Day School’s production of the Wizard of Oz.  My sister had managed to procure a ticket for me and I planned to meet a few of her friends at the show.   When I first arrived and went into the auditorium, I saw my…

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The Moth Kolkata Takes Flight

Last night, I got to go to the first ever Moth Storytelling night to be held in Kolkata.  It was hosted by Rishi Desai and his girlfriend Melissa and was absolutely great!   I hadn’t heard about The Moth before my sister told me about it a couple of weeks…

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Again, with the Kolkata…(and the heat and the travel)…

The weather forecast for today in Kolkata says it’ll be 109 degrees Farenheit (43 Celsius).  That is so NOT cool, especially when you consider that there is humidity to boot.   I have to tell you, I do not love super-hot weather.  I feel that whenever you are cold, you can…

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Green Villages, Red Teeth

Mawlynnong won an award a few years ago for being the cleanest village in Asia.  It is proud of that designation, and rightly so.  The village is almost utopian-like in its cleanliness.  When we were hiking, we went quite far out of the town before I saw even one potato-chip…

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The Sustainable Living Bridges of Meghalaya (or, Bridge from the Village Ruwai)

Today, I went to the living bridge in Ruwai, near Mawlynnong, in Meghalaya.  This is perhaps one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in my entire life.  I do not exaggerate on this.  Due to one of the highest annual rainfalls in the world, the floods each…

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Aslan’s Table…WHAT?!?!?

When we got up to head to Meghalaya, Bonnie had prepared breakfast and sent us off with a wave for our journey with Dean.  We drove out of Shillong and headed into the hills on a road that is under a lot of construction.  In some places, it’s still dirt…

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Adventure awaits…Northeast, Here We Come!

After a couple of days in Kolkata, I got onto another overnight train, headed for Guwahati.  Jayanthi and Alec had been out of town when I returned to Kolkata and both returned from their travels ill.  They weren’t quite up to the difficulties of a full day on a train,…

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Travel Inn (or, Back in Kolkata Again)

Back in Kolkata, I had reserved rooms at a place called Travel Inn.  I decided to stay a little closer to the area of town where I had stayed when I lived here in 1998.  I’ll only be in Kolkata this week for a couple of days before my sister…

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Vizag, City by the (other) Sea

Vishakapatnam is located in Andhra Pradesh, on the shores of the Indian Ocean.  While beautiful, this shore in Andhra is not quite as beautiful as the Arabian Seashore in Goa.  It’s touristy, but more for Indian tourists, rather than foreigners.  It is therefore, filled with trash.  Also, (and I assume tides…

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Rajahmundry…continued

The day after visiting the orphanage and school, my cousin Pratap took me into the jungle to see one of the village churches.  This is a ministry he and Sunitha have been working on for years.  They now have 20 churches.  What I didn’t realize, nonetheless, is how extensive the…

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Rajahmundry..

I’m staying with my dad’s cousin Deborah Sunitha and her husband Pratap here in Rajahmundry.  Pratap is a bishop now and he and Sunitha have a very large mission program, school, and orphanage they run, based out of Rajahmundry.  Moses, their son, just finished his masters and is looking for…

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Markets and Beaches and Bikes, oh My!

Driving a motorcycle in India at night is …. Wow.  It’s like driving directly into oncoming traffic on a road that they paved, but forgot to smooth (so it’s like a four-wheeling in the mountains because of all the bumps and potholes), while someone shines strobe and flashlights in your eyes…

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In Goa~ but InterNOT set up

Hi!  I’m writing from Goa!  I am staying in a beautiful hotel called the Empire Beach Resort.  It’s on Calangute Beach, in North Goa.  It was suggested to me by my sister’s friend Alec.  My cousin Pranu called to check on pricing for me (you never know when they’re going…

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Concerts (Ban)-Galore!

My sister Jayanthi and her boyfriend Aakash are both musicians. (While I may be a little biased) They are both incredible artists. You can check out their websites by clicking on their names. They are both living in Kolkata and working on their music. Aakash, composer and alto saxophonist extraordinaire,…

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Kali, Goddess of Destruction… (or, Kali Begins.)

Today, I went to Kalighat, to the temple for the goddess Kali in Kolkata.  This is known, I believe to be one of the largest temples in the city and is known to me as well from my previous time in Kolkata. I may have mentioned this before, but I…

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