aumshantih

I'm sitting here in the Club World lounge in Heathrow, thanks to my brother-in-law, Eddie, who got us in being the uber-frequent business traveller that he is. It's quite nice here, with a cafeteria and lots of drinks, and better yet, high speed access. I've been jonesing for a decent net connection.

The flight from Kolkata was living hell. Two hours late due to dense fog, multiple screaming children, and a person behind me that sounded like he was coughing up a lung. I should have compassion for all living things, but I was ready to open my third eye and ignite them all.

My last day in Kolkata was quite nice - I bought a bunch of books, did some last minute shopping, and spent a lot of time with my relatives. Many came to see me and Eddie off, which was nice, but as always bittersweet. My brother-in-law managed to make good impressions on everyone, which was nice. There's enough family drama as there is without those of us who are younger and saner getting involved in the thick of it.

There's a lot of things I'll miss about India. The food was wonderful, though I'm afraid that it kind of overloaded my digestion. (I don't want to even look at a curry for a few months..) The omnipresence of the gods and goddesses is always nice for me. This last year or so I kind of had a large crisis in faith, and it was reassuring for me to see how naturally it all came back to me while there. Well, perhaps it wasn't a crisis, and more of lull. I hope to bring some of that back with me, though it's tougher to practice in America. (Or maybe I just have more worldly distractions.) I'll miss the language - I forgot I how much I enjoy speaking and listening to Bengali. There are so many things that are better expressed in it than in English. I'll miss my aging relatives, some of whom I probably won't see again.

There are a lot of things I won't miss though. First and foremost, the poverty and filth. I guess things are a bit better than the last time I was there, but it's always heart rending, not to say unhealthy. I won't miss the traffic, or the difficulty of transportation. It'll be nice to feel wired and connected after being basically offline for a while. I won't miss being asked when I'm getting married - dear goddess, you'd think they'd be able to put two and two together. I also won't miss the uniformity of the people - I mean, everyone in India, basically, is some kind of Indian, and while we are a diverse people, it gets boring. It really is a strength of America that we can walk around and see people of all colors and creeds, from all over the world. It's kind of miraculous, really.

Anywho, I'm going to eat some more free food and perhaps a beer before my flight. I'll be uploading pictures and more posts when I'm home and have had time to go through all my things.

Be well, dear readers.