Christmas Eve

Namaste from Calcutta
It’s that time of year again and despite the seemingly disinterested locals many of us look forward with excitement to Christmas 2011. We plan to dress in traditional Indian attire after a morning of volunteer work and dine at the Fairlawn Hotel.
The winter here is pleasant with low twenties as the average high. Thankfully this ensures that the neatly swept litter piles in the gutters maintain a low radius odour. The morning walk to the motherhouse also gives us opportunity to witness the gearing up of the Muslim community we stay near – raw carcasses hang from butchers, street sweepers fight a losing battle, taxis and rickshaws negotiate tight corners using horns rather than indicators and shopkeepers call for attention. In the morning the sun appears so dim and discoloured through the haze that it is mistaken for the moon.
Yet Calcutta is a far cleaner, industrialized and more modern city than Varanasi and what we saw of Delhi. There is much anticipation however for the supposedly picturesque Goa paired with the warmer temperatures promised. BBC weather informed us of the 35°C heat in Mumbai yesterday.
Our thoughts are with you as you again recover from more serious aftershocks – we have been assured all is well.
Shub Krismas
Merry Christmas
By Michael H and Kieran H