Men carrying loads of bricks on their heads, on their way to the construction sites, also carrying baskets filled with rocks or sand or other building materials.
Skinny cows and lots of stray dogs. In Murshidabad, as we would drive away from the city we were staying in and towards the villages, the cows would get skinnier and there would be less dogs around.
Cows standing in the middle of busy intersections, not moving and not caring they were blocking all sorts of traffic.
Knowing we were getting totally ripped off by cab drivers when the ride would take significantly longer one way or the other, but not knowing the streets or city enough to be able to know how they should go or to even know we were getting ripped off till the end of the ride.
A two hour traffic jam, a single line of cars that was endless, probably went less than a mile. Never seen traffic so bad. Was almost fun because it was so ridiculous. At least I wasn’t by myself.
Cows eating trash because there is so much of it around, and so much of the grass here (in the north) is dry.
Drinking fresh coconut milk on a boat ride on the river ganger. Sitting on the edge of the boat and hanging our feet in the water as we were going.
The greenery of West Bengal. How dry the north is. They are still waiting for the rains to come. Driving around you can see that all of the fields are brown.
Crossing the street – always an adventure, no matter where you are. I remember when I first got here and saw people crossing the street I thought that would be something I would never be able to do. Now I do it no problems. But with the crazy driving and people just doing what they want, it is still something you have to be very careful about.
Women biking in their saris. It seems hard enough to wear one (to me) much less bike in them – so impressed!
Rickshaw drivers at night, lined up along the side of the street. Sleeping on or under their rickshaws. Their means of livelihood also being their shelter.
The hawkers trying to sell you everything from jewelry and postcards to batteries and zip drives.
Watching Bollywood movies in Hindi. Loving each one.
The children in the villages, so curious, so brave, all wanting to get a look at me, all wanting to see the pictures I was taking. The little boys and girls looked exactly the same, usually only wearing small shorts because it was so hot, and for the same reason all had a very short hair cut close to their heads. You could the girls because most had their ears pierced and some their noses or wore necklaces.
An old man taking a bath in the public well. A toddler girl going to the bathroom in the street. Neither being an isolated incident.
The first coop of chickens I saw on the side of the road, knowing they were to be sold as food. And then looking to the left of them and seeing a dirty chopping block, a bucket, a machete, and a pile of dirty feathers.
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