Leaving Birpara: The Toy Train Not Taken

October 20th, 2005 | By Joshua | 3 Comments »

The reason the Dalgaoan-Birpara Railway Station does not appear on my map of the town is because, until my final week, I had not had any reason to go there, so it did not exist. Not many trains stop there, anyway, only two daily coaches bound for Calcutta via Siliguri Junction, where we would change lines. But that bright Sunday morning (which was also Lakshmi Puja celebrating the God of Wealth and Prosperity), the station was new to us. How amazing, I thought, after two months, to be able to continue our discovery of Birpara until the very moment of our departure.
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The Moldy Backpack Blues…

October 18th, 2005 | By Joshua | 1 Comment »

From my freshly trimmed mustache
To the bottom of my walkin’ shoes…

Tranquilo Traveler Rule #1: When your backpack has been sitting in the corner for so long that its leather shoulder straps cultivate fuzzy gray blotches of vegetation, when there are spider webs clinging to its frame, then, my friends, it is time to move on.
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Viswakarma: God of Broadband, DSL, and Ethernet

October 17th, 2005 | By Joshua | 16 Comments »

The mustachioed, elephant-riding, dainty-looking deity on the right is Viswakarma: God of Technology, Machines, Iron-work, Masonry, Carpentry, and all Trades and Handicraft. His Puja was celebrated on September 17, when we were in Kalimpong, but I have waited until this moment to pay my respects. As I prepare to leave Birpara, thus losing my daily dose of fast, reliable Internet (when there are no blackouts or telephone ministry strikes, that is), I humbly bow my head and give thanks.
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Durga Puja Part 2: Oh Boya—It’s Bijoya!

October 15th, 2005 | By Joshua | No Comments »

Sorry, I couldn’t resist. It’s just that I’ve been listening to “Shubho Bijoya!” all day, as Birparians wish each other a happy final phase of Durga Puja. (Incidentally, I published some new photos in the introductory Durga Puja post, check ‘em out or click over for a Durga refresher course).
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Our Other Roommate: Shelob the Shaggy

October 12th, 2005 | By Joshua | No Comments »

The first time we met Shelob, we murdered several thousand of her children—freshly hatched spiderlings which were seething over one corner of our bathroom. We washed them down the drain, but took mercy on Mama who watched from the wall, deflated egg sac oozing fluid on her hairy abdomen.
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Durga Puja: Praying to the Demon Slayer

October 11th, 2005 | By Joshua | 4 Comments »

Fiercest of all Goddesses, consort of Shiva the Destroyer & Source of the Universe, Durga is the most revered deity in all of West Bengal. Bengalis’ year-round worship of Dame Durga peaks in a week of celebration that could be described as a colorful Indian cross between Christmas, Carnival, and Fashion Week. The event, known as Durga Puja, kicks off a month of holidays honoring other various deities, and is celebrated throughout West Bengal, from the poorest tea garden labor-line to the grand parades in Calcutta. Preparations for and anticipation of Durga Puja have marked our entire two-month stay in Birpara, and the event itself (which began last Sunday) also marks our final week in town.
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The Man Who Sells Me My Toilet Paper

October 5th, 2005 | By Joshua | No Comments »

Note the tee-shirt-resting-on-the-belly method of keeping cool, an extremely popular practice in both Nicaragua and West Virginia.
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Map: Birpara Town, Jalpaiguri District, North Bengal

October 4th, 2005 | By Joshua | 6 Comments »

When I showed my map of Birpara to Tay, and asked her if I’d missed anything, I was startled when she immediately declared “Yes!” and went on to list everything that was omitted: trucks, cows, rickshaws, bicycles, people, honking, piles of shit…
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Bengali Birthday Bash: Bulbulda Will Arrange

September 30th, 2005 | By Joshua | 1 Comment »

Vikash “Bulbul” Roy, is much more than the owner of the vehicle we rent. He is our Godfather, our band manager, our bodyguard, and social planner. The name we call him, “Bulbulda,” literally means “Big Brother Nightingale,” and if there is anything we need in Birpara, there is no doubt: as Sarmishtha and Debasish have told us a hundred times, “Bulbulda will arrange.”
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Oolash! A Day in the Life

September 20th, 2005 | By Joshua | No Comments »

The doorbell starts ringing at 8 o’clock in the morning, Saturday, our first “day off” in weeks. The day’s visitors include the typical Bengal Bunch cast and crew—Bulbul-da, Bodi-the-Nosy, Bling Bling Mani—in and out all day, but there are special guest stars this day as well: Anuradha Talwar, our “boss” from Calcutta, as well as her IUF counterpart who has flown in from Ahmedabad. Their cell phones, laptops, and action-oriented auras add to the general excitement of Things Getting Done as we sit in circles on the floor, one meeting leading into the next.
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