We were recently caught in a massive demonstration of the Marxist Communist Party of India (CPI-M). There were thousands of people peacefully marching through the streets of Kolkata waving large red flags. The buses were full and the city was literally brought to a stand-still. The state of West Bengal, of which Kolkata is the […]
Archive for January, 2008
Working for Mother Teresa
14Jan08For the past three days, we have been working in the morning at Daya Dan, an orphanage run by Mother Teresa’s organisation. It was quite an interesting experience – but not exactly what we expected. Mother Teresa needs no introduction. Recognised and acclaimed throughout the world, she received many distinctions and awards including the Nobel […]
whoah! calcutta
13Jan08Well well well… what a strange morning. Firstly, Christophe dazzled the local congregation with a couple of hymns on the guitar in Mass this morning. (Yes – strange indeed. I never knew he knew ‘Kum Ba Yah’… But more on this unusual ‘Peter, Paul and Mary’ musical appearance later.) We then ended up in an […]
Tata Nano
11Jan08Today, Tata motors unveiled the “1 lakh car”: the Tata Nano. Even though it does not include the 12.5% tax, one lakh rupees are only worth roughly three thousand Australian dollars or eighteen hundred Euros. This is a very cheap car; in fact it is the world’s cheapest car. Of course, for that price (Rs […]
These were the first words that Sir Edmund Hillary said to his friend George Lowe upon his return from the first ever successful ascent of Everest. He sadly passed away this morning in New Zealand. When we trekked in the Singalila range, most huts had photographs of him and Tenzing Norgay. It was here that […]
