Observations & Experiences of an Expat in India

As I believe that I have written before, observations and experiences on trains consist of those of six things: the trains themselves; passengers; beggars, hawkers, employees; and the view.

Especially as a result of travelling so much in December and January, I have noticed a few things. I noticed that the trains on longer journeys are usually more recently built and have outlets for mobile-charging in each compartment. The trains on shorter routes--like that from Howrah to Raxaul--have outlets only at the ends of each coach/bogie. However, regardless of whether or not they are actually new, they all look old. There is a lot of steel in the coaches (which I suppose is required) but, especially on the bottom seats/beds, there are a lot of chips in the steel where rust has encroached. It also appears that the steel has been painted after it was placed in the train. There were a couple of spots in the ceiling where paint chips had fallen out, and these areas were simply painted over. There are paint drops where there should be none. I think that the parts ought to have been professionally painted elsewhere, and then placed inside the train. Better still would be to install strong, plastic parts; it would be easier to keep clean. Dirt is ingrained everywhere, even in the sinks. It is most noticeable on the seats/beds. I suspect that it is created during the hot months when people have been perspiring profusely for many hours. Unfortunately, the residue is never clean up so it appears even in the cold months. Sweepers (both employees of the Railways and beggars looking for a handout) sweep the train to keep it relatively free from dust and garbage. However, dirt still becomes ingrained into the floor.

Especially because Caroline was not there, I rested a lot, and because I took the side-upper seat, I did not have a good vantage point. However, I did notice that there seemed to be more women on this journey than are on other trains. Also, most passengers disembarked before Raxaul; the train was somewhat empty when we arrived there.

I also realized that no matter where or when is the journey, most passengers are awake by 6:00am. Most passengers go to the toilet when they wake up, and sometimes a line forms for those wanting to use one. Thus, if you need to go to the toilet upon rising then you may want to wake up even earlier.

Shortly after we left Howrah, the hijra, a woman singing very loudly into a hand-held speaker, and two women who, I thought, were TCs (Ticket-Checkers) came through our coach, one after another. The two women, however, were actually from an NGO, and sought donations.

Hawkers, I have now concluded, are often counter-productive. There was one man selling aamsat--a delicious thick slice of mango--who made sounds that seemed unrelated to any known language. Another man was selling paper-soap (a thin slice of soap, to be used once, to wash hands and face) by calling out "paper sop". Most of them announce their goods very loudly and very repetitively. Thus, they are unable to hear responses from the passengers who may want such an item. They also walk very briskly; by the time you realize that you want something that they have, they have already walked past you.

Especially on my return trip, no one seemed to be selling packaged foods. Caroline has warned me about the potential dangers of eating oily or greasy food on the trains, and much of the food is aimed toward Bengalis who seem to relish a concoction of garbage in the guise of food. It was a good thing that I had bought a few packages of biscuits. On the morning of my arrival in Howrah, I did buy some bananas because they were being sold six for ten rupees, a very good price.

I never pay much attention to the employees, after all, the only employee with whom I need to interact is the TC. However, on my return from Birganj, I did notice employees sweeping the coach and hosing down the toilets. It was amazing to see how much garbage fewer than 100 passengers can leave behind in about a dozen hours' time.

I had a perspective of the journey that was different from earlier trips. On this trip, it seemed that Kolkata quickly gave way to villages after just a half-hour train ride. There were open wilderness and villages that were interspersed with larger towns every so often. Hooghly appeared nice, as did Serampore. Sheoraphuli's train station appeared to be a small town--not as big as Howrah or Sealdah, but still surprisingly large.

Even though it was in January, the day in Howrah was warm. The evening became cool, and the night was cold. I am glad that I brought along a blanket. On my return, the conditions at the locations seemed to be the same: the afternoon at Raxaul was cool-to-chilly, the night was very cold, and Howrah seemed to be warm.

As the train approached the Howrah station, I saw a sign painted on one of the nearby buildings that said, "Discipline Makes Nation Great". This was somewhat disturbing as it was eerily similar to the sign at the gate of Auschwitz, "Arbeit Macht Frei" (or "Work Will Free You")

In returning, perhaps I was too successful in what I had set out to do; I arrived at the train station at about 8:30am, so I would have to wait 1.5 hours. I did not have much concern about this as I frequently tell Caroline (who is habitually late) that it is better to be five hours early than to be five minutes late. However, two other concerns arose. The first was that the train had not arrived (and I did not understand why, given that this ought to have been its first journey of the day). The second was that, as I walked to the office to see on which platform it would arrive, there was a sign saying that the train would be very late.

Finally, at 11:45am--almost two hours after it was scheduled to depart--the train arrived. The train was filthy but, as I had mentioned in my previous post, some railway employees eventually came in to clean it. One would think that because it was so very late, every effort would be made to depart soon. However, the train did not depart until 1:15pm, more than three hours late. One would also think that every effort would be made to make up for lost time. However, at each station in Northern Bihar, the train would stop for an inordinate amount of time.This did not make sense as any passengers would be eager and quick to board the train, and I did not see any cargo that needed to be loaded onto the train. We were schedule to arrive at Howrah at 4:00am. From past experience, I figured that we would arrive at about 6:00am. Instead, on this trip, we did not arrive until 11:45am, about eight hours late on a relatively short journey!

At Howrah, I ran out to get to the post-paid taxis. In previous posts, I may have advised getting the pre-paid taxis. However, the process seems to have changed. Before, it was almost impossible to get a post-paid taxi, and even more difficult to get them to go by meter. They would often demand more than that of the pre-paid taxis. You could either accept it (which may be okay, given that the queue for the pre-paid taxis was usually quite long) or to dig in your heels and refuse to pay more than X rupees (which may be okay only if you know the accurate fare, and if you are a foreigner, as Indians tend to refrain from bothering foreigners--unless you are female, in which case you could very well be raped, in not only the Rape Capital of India but also other parts of India). I ran because there is now usually a long queue for the post-paid taxis (which now go by the metered rate from the station). At this time and date, however, I saw that there was no queue.

Because Republic Day was approaching, certain roads in the Maidan were closed, forcing the taxi driver to take a slightly longer route. I suppose, though, that the lateness of everything may have been a blessing in disguise. I had been afraid of arriving at Howrah at about 9:00am, the beginning of office-hours/rush hour, in which traffic congestion would be great. At this time, the traffic was more manageable. However, I was still very late in returning. I arrived home at about 12:20pm; needless to say, Caroline had been worried.

I went back to the travel agent later that day and he said that the train was delayed most likely because of the fog. This is understandable, but then why were we scheduled to arrive eight hours before we actually did arrive? Of course, the schedules are made many months in advance, but if the Railways are aware of fog (as they ought to be) then they ought to make some adjustment.

When I disembarked at Raxaul, I walked more confidently as I knew the way. The dirt road was strangely muddy--not as muddy as it was six months previously (during the monsoon season) but still surprisingly muddy. I do not know the reason for this.

As I approached the Indian Immigration office, the road was not turned into a parking lot of lorries, as it had been on my previous visit. I did see a line of lorries in another direction, though.

When I entered the office, I saw an older man--perhaps the same man whom I saw before (I am not certain as I sometimes have difficulty in recognizing people, especially with the passage of time). Regardless, he began the process of stamping my passport. I felt uneasy, as it seemed to be taking him awhile. He even stepped away to go to a computer, for what reason, I do not know. He came back and he seemed to say (he was very soft-spoken) that I had overstayed in India and that I had been there 182 days. (180 days is the maximum for those on tourist visas.) I found this surprising because I was aware of the days and thought that I had made the correct calculation at timeanddate.com. However, because of the one-day journey, I may have miscalculated. Also, I do try to stay for the maximum time, so there is little room for error. Moreover, most Immigration Officers use not the correct (and more difficult to calculate) rule of 180 days but the approximate 6 month rule. I guess that he was experienced and knew of the correct rule. I did not really address this concern other than to acknowledge that I knew of the proper rule and to say that I adhere to it. This seemed to satisfy him and after a little while more, gave me my stamped passport.

I then walked a little bit more to the Nepal Office. On my way, I was somewhat surprised to see the tall archway signifying, I assume, the border of Nepal. I was surprised because on my previous visit, the entire road was filled with lorries and it was difficult to get a view of it.

Once inside the office, I was instantly 15 minutes into the future. This is because Nepal's time zone is 15 minutes ahead that of India. This makes sense to those in the Eastern part of India, but not to those on the Western half of the country. This is yet another reason why I think that India should be divided into two time zones The sun rises in Imphal (at the Eastern end of India) at 5:20 in the morning (as of today, 19 March 2014) and in Porbander (at the Western end) at 6:57 in the morning (both according to timeanddate.com). Anyone with half-a-brain (and even those without it) should be able to see that this virtually mandates a different time zone.

Inside the office, the walls were painted, so it did not seem so dingy as it had before. Regarding stamping the visa, I remembered it as being easy and quick the last time, and it seemed to be even easier and quicker this time. He seemed to stamp it faster than I could give him the passport. Again, I had gone to the Nepal Consulate to get the Visa even though, I believe, Nepal offers a VOA (Visa-on-Arrival) to Americans and perhaps other nationalities (although not Indians as I believe that there is an open border between the two nationalities). If I were seeking a VOA then it may have been more difficult, or even impossible at such a small office.

In leaving Birganj 48 hours later, I went back to the office to have the passport stamped for leaving. I asked the officer (out of curiosity, and partly because I thought that I was already early--being there at 8:00am) what were the hours for the office. He replied by saying that there was someone there from 5:00am to 7:00pm.. I found this surprising. He knew more about the train and arrival times better than I did, but I never heard of any government office anywhere in the world being open at 5:00am. On the other hand, I thought that 7:00pm might be too early to close. Trains are usually late (more on this below) so it would be a shame to arrive in Birganj, only to find that the Immigration Office had already closed, and that you would have to wait until the next morning.

Ben Franklin was right. (However, although I consider myself to be healthy and wise, I am not wealthy.). On this journey, I concluded that I was successful in the things that were (somewhat) within my control, but not so much in things that were outside of my control.

Regardless, I had gone to bed early, woke up early, completed my visit to the Nepal Immigration Office quickly, and arrived at the Indian Immigration Office at a time when there were no other foreigners there. I did have some concerns about things that were outside of my control. The first was that the Immigration Officer was younger than the one I had met. (This was troublesome to me because of my experience at the Ashok Guest House, to be elaborated upon in my next post.) The second was that my Indian visa was going to expire very soon, and I did not know if this would be a great concern to him. (In 2010, before my previous passport expired, I had difficulty in getting into Singapore because it was within 6 months of its expiration. I still do not understand this. Are 10-year passports not 10-year passports but 9.5-year passports? If so then 10-year passports ought to be valid for 10.5 years.)

However, before the second concern could be raised, a couple of tourists from the U.K. and Switzerland (if I remember correctly) came in and sat down. A few minutes later, a couple of tourists from the Ukraine (although if they were from Crimea then they would be Russians now, I suppose--as of 19 March 2014) came in and sat down. There were now five of us wanting to have our passports stamped. In short, the Officer did his best to accommodate all of us at once, did not raise any issues or concerns about my soon-to-be expired visa, and then stamped my passport. I was now free to be in India (at least, for another two months, during which time I had to get a new visa).

I was born in San Francisco, raised in the Bay Area, and then later lived in San Francisco for a quarter-of-a-century. I came to know that the only thing that TV meteorologists have to say in San Francisco is "Morning fog, clearing by mid-day". Sometimes the fog can be very thick, especially at night. I remember that there were a few occasions of pea-soup fog at the Golden Gate Bridge. I also came to know that London is famous for its fog, as well.

Strangely, South Asia also has fog. In previous years (primarily in December), the fog was so thick around our previous residence that I could not see buildings that I knew were about 20 metres away. In Birganj, on this morning, the fog was also pea-soup fog. As I was walking, I was beginning to think that I had turned onto the wrong road and would have to back-track. However, as I came within 20 metres of the Raxaul train station, I could see the outline of the building..

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
(Wow! What a wonderful beginning! I think that I shall elaborate on this and write a novel set in the French Revolution, and make lots of money!)

After leaving the Nepal Immigration office, I walked to the Ashok Guest House where I stayed six months before. I appreciate the familiar, so I wanted to stay there again. Six months ago, the AGH was a welcome sight. Now, however, it proved to be a chore.
Six months earlier, there was an older manager. It was very easy to deal with him. This time, the manger was younger. He did show me the room. This time, it was at a better location, with a view of the (dirt) street and the businesses along it. I said that I would take it and we went back to the office. He held on to my passport and inspected it even more than did the Immigration officers. He said that the rate was not NPR200 (as I had paid before) but INR200, which was close to NPR300, a 50% increase! I objected to this, and we eventually agreed on NPR250. He said that prices were always increasing. I believed him because he was the cause of it!

I went back to the room. Last time, I was in Nepal for just one day, the weather was hot and humid, and what was (or was not) provided was never significant to me. This time, I was there for two days, it was extremely chilly, and so I paid more attention to things.
This time, it became more evident that there was just a bed (with mosquito netting), a nightstand (on uneven legs) and no other furniture. There was not even a mirror on the wall. They did provide two thick blankets. With those and the blanket that I brought, I covered myself completely from the cold.
Six months ago, the weather was hot and humid so I appreciated relatively colder showers. This time, I had colder showers. Even in cold weather, I take a shower every day and do not feel clean unless I also shampoo my hair. In Birganj, however, the water was like ice; I was slightly surprised that the pipes were not frozen. I did not take a shower, but only gingerly shampooed my hair. Even then, my skull was aching from the pain of the ice-cold water.
When there is nothing to do, I do nothing. In other words, I rested a great deal. On one or two brief occasions, however, I went out to hunt for other hotels. The first time, I walked a while, but could not locate anything. The second time, I walked further and saw three hotels, at least two of which seemed to be very affordable (the Nepal GH—still under construction, and Hotel Jay Nepal). The third one (Hotel Shekhar) had a restaurant on the ground floor. Because I was hungry, I went there. The waiter told me that the rooms were NPR700-800! but that they did have everything, including television and hot water. I never inspected the rooms, but I doubt that it would be worth such a high price.
Birganj is a somewhat large city, and I had walked probably no more than 100 metres. I suspect that there are more hotels in the heart of the city, rather than on the southern fringe of the city (although the southern end is good for those who make visa-runs, like myself).
In walking back, I saw something that I had obviously overlooked. The Ashok Guest House is on the left-had side of a building complex. On the right-hand side is the Koselee Guest House! It is symmetrical to AGH and is part of the same building, so the features are probably the same. Moreover, because it is part of the same building, it may have the same owner and/or manager, thus, I never made inquiries. If you are coming to Birganj, Nepal from Raxaul, India then you may want to go to the Koselee GH first and see what rates they offer.

As I wrote, when there is nothing to do, I do nothing. The first evening that I was there, I heard a knock on the door. I woke up, opened the door and saw the manager there offering (or, probably more accurately, selling) “candies” and mosquito coil. I do not believe (at least, I certainly do not remember seeing) that mosquito coils are available in the United States. In India (and, apparently, in Nepal and perhaps all of South Asia) mosquito coils are a metallic(?) coil which you heat and which wards off mosquitos. I did not want this because I have not had problems with mosquitos, because I had a mosquito net, and because I had thick blankets.
I also think that these may have been intended for my neighbour as I saw these outside that door the following morning. I saw also that it was not candies, as I thought that he had said, but candles. As I was still tired and as it was dark outside, I could not tell the difference. I do not remember how it was six months ago, but now there were frequent load-shedding episodes; there were at least two in the two days that I was there. I found this surprising because it was Winter and people did not have fans and AC on continuously, and frustrating because it seemed to occur only in the evening, when the need for lights was greatest.
On the second day, the manager seemed to be a little bit more friendly, but my overall impression is that he was overly eager to take money. I attributed his nature to his being relatively younger than the previous manager I had encountered. This was why I was a little bit apprehensive when I walked back to India and saw an officer who was younger than the one with whom I had dealt two days earlier (and recounted in a previous blog post).

The first thing to know about Birganj is that it is not Kolkata. It is also not like the more modern and advanced cities of Cebu and Singapore, nor like the cosmopolitan city of San Francisco, where I lived for 25 years.

I have read a few blog posts warning of “reverse culture shock” and even written a post in response to that. I would like to think that I am very adaptable, and do not think that I would ever get culture shock, although I acknowledge that I could be wrong. (And as I had written, I did get reverse culture shock after my very first visit to Calcutta--as it was called then—when I suddenly realized that the large city of San Francisco was actually quite small.)

I still do not think that I had any form of culture shock, but there were times when I was left in a state of wonder. As in Howrah, the nights in Birganj were extremely cold, the mornings and evenings were very chilly, but the sun shone brightly and somewhat warmly in the afternoon. On the second day that I was there, I went to the other end of the Ashok Guest House where there was a roof on the second floor. (The building is such that there is also a third floor, but the length of the second floor is longer.)

Regardless, I sat on a bench and basked in the little warmth that there was. It was then that I realized that Birganj is a very quiet city. I heard birds chirping, and a few generators running and, occasionally, some car or lorry horns blowing—although nothing like it is in Kolkata. It was almost as if I had become deaf and could not hear anything.

It was also a dark city. As I wrote in my review of the Ashok Guest House, there was frequent load-shedding, especially at night (when people need power the most). There could very well have been many stars that would have been visible, were it not for the pea-soup fog.

Even more than in Kolkata, I did not see women. In Kolkata, the only times that I see women are when they are shopping and/or wearing a burqa. (That may be an exaggeration, but not by much.) In Nepal, I saw fewer women. I saw (on my previous visit) and read a few things that indicated that there are Muslims in Birganj, but I did not see any verification of that. However, I was surprised to see a female merchant, and a female chef.
I was actually sad to see the female chef. On my previous visit, I found a good restaurant, with hoe-style food, and a waiter who understood a modicum of English. This time, I am not sure if I saw that same restaurant. My conclusion was that the place was remodeled--perhaps under a different owner. Gne was the menu and the arrangement that I had come to know. It was one of the few restaurants that I saw in Birganj.
I should emphasize two things, though. The first is that I was on the Southern edge of the city, about 100 metres from the Indian Immigration office. There may have been more toward the centre of town. The second is that there are a lot of roadside food stands. I do not mind these, and I frequent them in Kolkata. There are a few "holes-in-the-walls" places--not much bigger than a walk-in closet--that I enjoy. Even in these places, though, I usually go to them only if Caroline comes with me in the beginning. Moreover, I am familiar with Kolkata. Neither of these were characteristics of the road-side stands in Birganj.
As I wrote earlier, to pass the time, I often slept. I also listened to the radio. India has not been a good place for me and technology. I had brought a laptop with me from the U.S., but lost that to the heat and humidity of India. (Although it may also have been the voltage. The electrical outlets in the U.S. provide 110 volts; those in India provide--I believe--220 volts.) I bought a replacement in India but that, too, is now inoperable. I bought a camera here, and had it repaired twice, but is not working now. I also brought a mobile that was lost to the heat ad humidity. As a replacement, I bought another Nokia. I thought that all mobiles had cameras. However, when I unpacked it, I found that it did not, but did have an FM radio.
Regardless, after listening to it in Birganj, I wondered if people still listened to the radio. There is youtube, and MP3 players now, so I wonder how popular FM radio still is. Even when I was in the United States, AM radio was declining. According to Wikipedia, there are just 5 AM radio stations in San Francisco.
I wondered about my phone. I was about 100 metres from the Nepal side of the border (or, maybe more accurately, 100 metres from the arch which I assume signifies the border) and yet I got NCell as my carrier, rather than Airtel.
Another thing that caused me to think internationally was blue nail polish. I wanted to get Caroline a gift from Nepal. I knew that she liked putting on nail polish, that she was running out of a supply, and had wished for blue nail polish. At one shop, I found that, and saw that it was made in Nepal. It was my impression that Nepal was a lot like Bhutan or North Korea. I know that almost everything that North Korea has (or, more accurately, everything that the North Korean government has--the people have nothing) is provided by China. I have also read that Bhutan is heavily dependent upon India imports, and I thought that Nepal was the same. Of course there are some things that the Nepalese can do on their own; it seems that blue nail polish is one of them.
Many other things are, though, done by Indians. I would find it difficult to believe that there would be an indigenous film industry. Moreover, there is not evidence of that, and everything to the contrary. On my previous visit, I saw a sign advertising some product endorsed by Kajol, and this time, I saw a film poster of an old film starring a young Jeetendra (who is on my Google+ profile, as a result of my wife and me meeting him at the Juhu Holiday Inn in January 2003--if I remember that date correctly). I also saw a painted sign for Rupa's Jon O-Bamaa men's briefs. I think that I had seen some similar signs in India. I did not have a camera with me, and I could not locate any images through images.google.com, but I did find this blog post at Delhi Magic. I have always wondered which came first: the Presidency of Barack Bushama, or Jon O-Bamaa briefs. I suspect the former.
Perhaps even more than in India (certainly far more than in Hyderabad, where I do not think that they exist any longer), there were STDs (Standard Trunk Dialing--or places where you can make a public phone call). However, I did not see any Internet Cafes. Again, though, there may be more of each in the central part of town.
Perhaps most internationally was the sign that I had seen on my previous visit, and which I saw again between the borders, announcing that there is a Lions Club in Birganj. The club apparently has a Facebook page, and a (defunct) blogspot blog, but no Google+ profile.

To smell or not to smell, that is putrefaction. Can stinking be done about it? Of course nose.

In the late 1970s, my class 10/10th grade Latin teacher, Magister Denegrius (Mr./teacher Denegri) was fond of saying, "TB or not TB, that is congestion. Consumption be done about it? Of cough not".

Just now, I have learnt that, about five years previous to my Latin teacher's quote, Woody Allen said virtually the same thing in a film, in which he said, "TB or not TB, that is congestion. Consumption be done about it? Of cough, of cough, but it takes a lung, lung time".

All of these, of course, are humourous adaptations of Hamlet's speech.

I suppose that I could be accused of flogging a dead horse. I often write about annoying habits of Indians. I wrote Body Ritual Among the Naidni which was a satire and a contest entry in which I alluded to annoying, peculiar and disgusting habits. A few months later, I wrote Annoying Habitsin which I elaborated on the topic.
About a quarter-of-a-century ago (it is hard to believe that it has been that long--it seems more recent than that), I went to the Soviet Union (when it was still the Soviet Union). To get there, there was a one-day layover in Yugoslavia (when it was still Yugoslavia). On that narrow, six-seat-wide plane from Belgrade, there was a smoking section...and it was the left-hand side of the plane! In other words, non-smokers were separated by a one-foot wide aisle from the non-smokers! Moreover, everybody smoked...even the passengers in the right-hand side. Moreover, everybody smoked. From my experience there, I came to believe that even two-year old infants smoked in Eastern Europe.
I have come to a similar conclusion about spitting in India. India has four times as many people as does the United States, so it ought to have four times as many of everything. It ought to have four times as many centenarians, but I have read that it has four times fewer centenarians (and I believe that I have written about this in another post, although I can not locate it now, even though I search for "centenarian"). Thus, it would be understandable if it has four times as many spitters. Instead, it has a billion more spitters. This is certainly the most common, annoying and disgusting habit in India.
Annoying habits that I have more recently observed relate to eating. Indians often talk with their mouths full. Indians have awful habits regarding talking. If you were equidistant from a roaring jet engine and an Indian talking, you could still hear the India talking; they talk extremely loudly. (I theorize that this is based on another theory that many Indians are partially deaf, and thus talk very loudly to hear themselves.) In this, Indians combine two annoying habits in one
Indians also smack their lips when eating. It is okay if I see you eating, but I do not need to hear you eating.

There are also stereotypes that seem to be often more true than not. Muslim women are fat-to-obese. (Muslim girls, on the other hand, may be slim but Muslim women are not.) Bengalis are lazy and overly fond of doing nothing but talking and gossiping. Blind Muslim men sing for alms. You would think that the population of blind Muslim men would be 1 or 2, but I have encountered many more--especially on trains--and they all sing for alms. Perhaps that scene in Slumdog Millionaire was based on a common reality. (Actually, I did see one blind Muslim man who was not singing, but he was carrying a loudspeaker which was playing songs, so it is virtually the same idea.) And, of course, if you are in Delhi then you are either a rapist or a rape victim. (The politically correct term seems to be rape survivor, but in India, that is not always the case.)

I write all of this because it has come to my attention that many Indians stink and that this is as a result of a lack of a Racold water heater.

I have, and have not, encountered this.
I have dealt with the stench of smokers. This is a mixed blessing (although more harmful than good). Twenty years ago, tobacco users were primarily those of gutkha. These users spat on walls and stairwells, leaving red stains for all eternity. It was precarious to be around them for fear of getting their effluence on you. Moreover, their mannerisms were deplorable. Now, cigarette smokers do not leave visible remnants on buildings, but they do kill not only themselves slowly (and I really wish that they would speed up the process) but also non-smokers. Each and every yearin India, about one lakh non-smokers die from the effects of second-hand smoke. Less significantly, but more pertinently to this post, the stench of cigarettes remains on people's clothes.
I deal with smokers by overtly waving a newspaper in their direction and/or putting my shirt to my nose and mouth. Caroline, who is more voluble than I am, will then request them to stop smoking or to move away (provided that she is with me at the time).
My experience with those who are not smoking is that Indians smell wonderful. Caroline, especially, appreciates the perfumes and colognes in the air as some people walk by. Moreover, I often see people taking baths. No, I am not a voyeur, but in Kolkata there are many public water pumps and every morning (between 6-8am), I see about a half-a-dozen men at each pump performing ablutions. (I can not explain why it is always men, and why the men cannot take baths the way the women do.) I have encountered one man who was smelly, but I think that it was more his clothes being unwashed rather than him being unclean.
However, I have come to realize that it is very important to have a hot water bath. During the Winter months, I saw far fewer men at the public water pumps. What they did, I do not know. Perhaps they used more perfumes and colognes. Last year, we did not have a water heater and my daily showers, while effective (I hope), were extremely brief. Now we live in a place that has provided a Racold water heater. Even in late March, I enjoy the warmth of the water and take a longer and more productive shower.
In short, it is important to have a shower but it is more important to have an enjoyable shower. I hope that this is something that every Indian--even smelly bosses--can understand.

1 Mar In a few posts, I have mentioned the horrific conditions of the roads in Kolkata, especially in our new neighbourhood. This article says that one of the worst stretches of roads in the city is being repaired. I see it daily, and the work is proceeding surprisingly quickly. The article says that it will be completed by the end of the year. Knowing government bureaucracy, and the monsoon weather, I doubt this optimistic forecast.

1 Mar In a few posts, I have mentioned the counter-productive nature of the Bengali government in severely restricting bicycle usage. This article says that the restrictions are being loosened, somewhat.

3 Mar In a few posts, I have provided links to articles about bird-watching. This article seems to explain why it is so popular: India is home to the greatest number of bird species.

8 Mar Even though an Indian is no longer the World Chess Champion, Chess is still extremely popular here. This is an article about children playing chess in tournaments.

9 Mar I try to provide good information in the places in India that I visit as well as those for which I have no first-hand knowledge. This news article from the Telegraph is about Sikkim.

9 Mar I have not watched the Hollywood film Monuments Men. Regardless, I know that it was based on true events. This article details Indians who similarly saved artwork (in Italy) during World War II.

11 Mar Last month, I read a few articles about the reclamation of the Hooghly River, but could never find the online version. This month, I found one in the Telegraph

15 Mar I do try to write as much as I can about as much of India as possible. When and where I cannot, I provide news articles about these places. This one is about Darjeeling.

16 Mar Living in India, and having lived in San Francisco (where English is a second language), I have a lot of observations of languages (although not of German, as this linked article addresses).
A few years ago, Rosie O'Donnell, an American chat-show host, made some politically-incorrect observations of the Chinese language. The following observations may be equally politically-incorrect, but I do believe that they are more astute and more grounded in real experience. To imitate the Chinese language and its speakers, you do not have to use a lot of words that end in "ng" as Rosie did. All you have to do is speak your own language very very loudly. Similarly, to imitate a French person's speech, you just have to get very drunk.
I have never liked the sound of the Tagalog (Philippine), Malay and Indonesian languages, which are a part of the Austronesian group of languages; I have always found them to be grating to the ears. However, there are some Malay songs that I like; I think that any language can be acceptable in a song provided that the song is nice. I do not like the Bengali language. My impression of it is the same as that of French. However, I often find that Bengali music is similar to Mexican or Spanish music; there seems to be a frequent use of guitars.I have never been able to differentiate the Koran and the Japanese language. I had a friend who could, though. Perhaps if I analyzed them for awhile then I could do the same.
I do like the sound of the Hindi and Vietnamese languages.

16 Mar There seem to be some celebrities who are always in the news. Alok Nath, strangely enough, is one of them.

18 Mar For a long time, I have known that Hotmail.com was founded by an Indian-American. Now, it seems, email itself was invented by an Indian-American, Mr V.A. Shiva Ayyadurai

22 Mar I found this article to be very intriguing. I did further research, found edx.org, and now I think that I will enroll in a course in the foreseeable future.

23 Mar As I write frequently, there ought to be four times as many centenarians in India as there are in the United States, but it seems that there are four times fewer centenarians here. Regardless, Zohra Sehgal is an exception. The linked article is of an older interview with Zohra who is still alive and who will be 102 years old on 27 April 2014.

25 Mar There are many times when the judiciary (of any and all countries) gets things wrong, but it is nice to know that the Indian Supreme Court saved people from the fascism of the Aadhar Card.

28 Mar I am happy to know that there are many Indians vying for this award as World's top thinkers, but I am more glad to know about Elon Musk. I once watched a TV show about his life and achievements. I think that he is this generation's Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking or Nikola Tesla (perhaps the last, as his motor company is named after him).

31 Mar I had horrible experiences regarding Holi (and may write about it in a post next year). I can not imagine why otherwise intelligent people in the United States would participate in this.

14 Feb (Pathological Liars) RCW
1 Mar (Pathological Liars) RCW (The same can be said about taxes.)

2 Mar (GI) RCW (Where else but in RCI--the Rape Capital of India--formerly known as Delhi?)
3 Mar (FCM, GI) RCW
3 Mar (Pathological Liars, WoC) Russia, G.A. (Wow! What a coincidence! The Cold War ends; the War on Civilians begin; the battle against the civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan winds down; the Cold War resumes!)
3 Mar (FCM) G.A.
5 Mar (Judiciary) G.A.
6 Mar (Judiciary) G.A.
7 Mar (Nazi Scum of America) G.A.
7 Mar (Judiciary) G.A.
7 Mar G.A.
8 Mar (Nazi Scum of America) G.A./U.K.
9 Mar (FCM/SPM) G.A.
10 Mar (Nazi Scum of America) G.A. (I admit that I do not quite understand this article. The Constitution has not existed since the first term of Bushama, so how could it have been violated more recently?)
10 Mar (Pathological Liars) Japan
11 Mar G.A. (Even government hates government)
11 Mar G.A. (Even government breaks government laws)
11 Mar (Gulag Archipelago) G.A.
12 Mar (BushamaCare) G.A. (A government program costing more than expected? Wow! That is news!)
12 Mar (Nazi Scum of America) G.A.
13 Mar (Nazi Scum of America) G.A. (Even government hates government)
13 Mar (Nazi Scum of America) G.A. (This may be a case of the pot calling the kettle "black" though)
13 Mar (FCM) G.A. (What does FC stand for? Fee-collecting)
13 Mar (FCM) Australia
14 Mar (Military, G.I.) G.A.)
14 Mar (Military) U.K.
14 Mar G.A. (875,000 terrorists? That is a lot of police, Nazi Scum of American, and Thieves and Sexual Abusers personnel--they are the real terrorists, look up the word in the dictionary)
16 Mar (FCM) Canada (What are the odds that they were brutally arrested?)
17 Mar (Nazi Scum of America) G.A.
17 Mar (Nazi Scum of America) G.A./U.K.
17 Mar (Military) G.A. (Why am I not surprised by this headline?)
18 Mar (Military) G.A.)
18 Mar (Nazi Scum of America) G.A.
18 Mar (FCM) U.K. (Of course they say it is necessary; strip-searching children is always necessary to pedophiles, cops, and other scummy beings)
24 Mar (Nazi Scum of America) G.A. (Even government hates government)
24 Mar (FCM/SPM) G.A.
27 Mar (Judiciary) Japan (Even Bushama is not this bad...yet)

As I wrote, Hotel Modern Lodge does not have television sets. Like the rooms at Ashok Guest House, the rooms at Hotel Modern Lodge do not have much. My room had two beds and a nightstand, just as at AGH. The beds had two, thin mattresses. The top ones were relatively new, but the bottom ones were old, dirty and ratty-looking. However, the room also had built-in shelves, with a mirror, which was an improvement.
Unlike AGH, though, there was no attached bathroom! The bathrooms were elsewhere, and I believe that there are three on each storey of the hotel. I was on the ground floor, where the door to one was disintegrating. There was a larger and nicer bathroom hidden away in the corner. However, the floor was somewhat heavily sloped so that when the floor was wet, it was very slippery. The other bathroom seemed to be very small, so I never looked into that one. All of the toilets, though, have Indian-style toilets. This is not only unsettling but also very unsettling for a hotel that caters to foreign tourists.
The room did have a switch for the light and for the fan but, as one reviewer wrote, there was no electrical outlet. This means that you have to be and stay in the lobby to charge mobiles, tablets, laptops, etc.
As another reviewer wrote, there was a dead cockroach in the room. On Sunday morning, I saw half-a-dozen or so dead or dying cockroaches on the lobby floor. Perhaps the employees had sprayed or placed poison the previous evening
Actually, I do not begrudge Indian hotels for having cockroaches (other than those named A.P. Singh) because they are endemic to all tropical places. I remember visiting the beautiful state of Hawaii and having a few large, flying cockroaches surrounding me. In Kolkata, I was eating some take-out chow mein when a similar cockroach landed in the box. However, if it has mice, rats and creatures that resembled moles--as Hotel Garib Nawaz has--then that would be horrible and disgusting. Fortunately, I saw none of them at Hotel Modern Lodge--although there were a couple of lizards, which Caroline hates.
The room appeared to be recently painted. However, it was painted in the way the rooms at the Fairlawn Hotel were painted; they were simply painted over. In other words, there seemed to be as much paint as there was wood to the doors. Moreover, the door to the side window seemed to be painted shut (or perhaps it was nailed shut. The doors to the front "windows" (which were actually screens) did appear to be new, however. This, though, was perhaps the only nice thing in the room. Moreover, the room seemed to be painted lackadaisically. There were numerous drips of red paint on the white paint. Painters in India do not seem to know about masking tape or other preventative measures in avoiding drip marks.
The rooms, however, had no locks! You were supposed to buy your own lock and keys. I suppose that this is good for your own security (as the employees can not enter your room while you are gone), but this ought to result in the lowering of room rates. There were also no wastebaskets in the rooms, although there were ashtrays on the tables in the lobby.

Another Google+ reviewer praised the receptionist, Raju. My wife and I have experienced nothing but trouble from him, however. My wife really wanted to stay there, and she frequently asked Raju to arrange a room for her, but he always said that the managers hated Indians and would never allow her. The day before I was to check in, we went to make final arrangements and saw the manager. He was very gracious and said that Caroline was more tan welcome as long as I stayed there as well. He never indicated any problems in this arrangement. We both concluded that Raju was a lying and conniving individual.
The next day, I checked in (on my own) and saw a different manager. He was somewhat rude and brusque.
In checking in, photocopies of my passport were needed. In my review of the Hyderabad hotel, Hotel Meridian Comfort Inn, I suggested that you have photocopies of your passport when checking in. In hindsight, though, this may not be needed as almost all hotels return the passport to you. It seems that it was only HMCI that was lackadaisical in returning the passport. At Hotel Modern Lodge, Raju wanted me to pay for the photocopies! I have never heard of nor encountered that before; I said that I had already paid for the room, which was sufficient, and refused to pay for the photocopies as well.
It seems that the employees are undesirable from top to bottom.
I will say, however, that they were quite kind to the cats on the premises, unlike the rumours that I have heard about the nearby Hotel Maria. I just wish that the employees of HML looked after their human guests just as nicely.

Finally, another reviewer wrote that HML was "good value for money at Rs 150 per month". If it was INR150 per month then it certainly would be a good value. However, I think that he meant that it is a good value at INR150 per day. That statement may or may not be correct. However, the room rate is now INR200 per day, so it is certainly not a good value now.
My suggestion would be any other very cheap hotel or, if you can afford it, one of the newer and more luxurious hotels coming up or--my favourite--the Fairlawn Hotel.

Before I write about Hotel Modern Lodge I ought to write about the events leading up to my staying there for about a week.

Caroline had to visit some relatives some distance away and would be gone for about a week. Our neighbours can be quite troublesome at times, and she thought that it was best if I stay there while she was gone. Since she agreed to pay for it, I did not raise much objection (other than I thought that it was unnecessary).

On the day of her departure, I went with her to Howrah and waited for the train (which is perhaps a first as she is often late, or just in time to catch the train). I have noticed that I am beginning to recognize more and more people on the streets of Kolkata. Usually, I see people only at their shops, but sometimes I see them or others travelling along the streets. Most often, it is the husband of Caroline's classmate and best friend when they were children. Both Caroline and I have seen him a few times at a shop that serves milk and some sweets when we are there. Once, I was walking along a narrow lane and saw him approaching me on a motorcycle. We both waved and said hello to each other. Some time later, I had to return and saw him returning from the opposite direction! We were both amazed at the coincidence.

I mention this because at Howrah (the largest in area railway station in India--perhaps because Calcutta used to be the capital of India), Caroline was sitting on a small stool and I was standing, often looking down at her. For one brief moment, though, I looked up and saw the son of the landlord of Caroline's parent's former place (and who is quite a scoundrel). I could not believe it was actually him. The next second, he patted Caroline, who then looked up and was similarly shocked. However, he spoke some nice words to Caroline and she was relieved. It turns out that he dropped off his father who was going to Bangalore/Bengaluru. Still, it is difficult to fathom that two people in a city with a metropolitan population of over 14 million people, and who live far from each other can meet at the same place and time.

When the train finally departed, I walked alongside the train, still talking to her. As the train picked up speed, I walked more quickly and ten began to jog. Caroline urged me to stop, but I wanted to run the distance. Eventually, I had to relent because I was getting winded. I had walked or jogged almost the entire length of the train station, which is far, far longer than BART stations in the San Francisco Bay Area. I do walk, which I know is good exercise, but I guess that it is not good enough to prevent me from becoming exhausted.

I do know how to get to the train station by bus. I have done it before, and will do so when she returns. However, I am uncertain of how to return by bus. I told Caroline that if she and I went together then I would become familiar with the specific spot and bus number. In the meantime, I had to catch the more familiar taxi. I went to the post-paid area (there is still a pre-paid taxi stand, but that is often more expensive than the post-paid taxis). Regardless, and as I wrote at another post, I would recommend that you take the pre-paid taxi if you are unfamiliar with Kolkata. Many, if not most, taxi drivers are mischievous and could drive you around for a very long time for a trip that should take just 15 minutes. The ones allowed to be at Howrah are presumably better, but not always.

When it was my turn for the post-paid taxi, I got in, told him my destination, and then asked him to turn on the meter. He did so, but a short time later, he said that it would be 100 rupees. I sensed that there could be trouble since I knew that it should be 80-90 rupees.(And it is ironic that he had painted the words “Do not pay more than the display” on the dashboard.) However, he did drive the route that I expected him to take. Nearing the destination, I told him to stop as the meter showed 78 rupees. (We could have gone further, but that might have added another 10 rupees, which was not worth the trouble as I was already within walking distance). I then asked for bis rupiya (20 rupees—drivers never have coins, so it is worthless to ask for 22 rupees). He then indicated that it was 100 rupees. I reiterated my request. He offered dus rupiya (10 rupees). I then opened the door and started to get out (without paying). He then “found” that he had 20 rupees. I took it and then handed the 100 rupees (the only bill that I had with me) to him.

Hotel Modern Lodge is one of a handful of very cheap hotels in and around Sudder Street that cater to tourists. Another(?) one is Hotel Pioneer International on Marquis Street. Several years ago, I went there to inquire about the price, and it was slightly more expensive than I wanted it to be. It may have a television in the rooms, however; the very cheap hotels do not. However, it is in what I call the "no man's land" of Marquis Street, an area that is more distant from many of the services (such as restaurants) that you will need. Moreover, I do not think that I have seen anyone--either foreigners or Indians--enter or leave there. It may be worth looking into; it seems to have gotten good ratings from justdial.com.
Such hotels, in any case, seem to be dying in the Sudder Street area. After very many years of Sudder Street being a tourist area, new and expensive (catering to, I believe, businessmen) hotels are popping up with increasing frequency. If you can afford them then it may be worth it as you will be in a good neighbourhood. One of the first of such hotels is Hotel Presidency Inn/ I mention this only to say that you should never go there; never think about going there; and never even think about thinking to go there. Never go there!

30 Mar It was a shame that Viswanathan Anand lost the World Championship title to Magnus Carlsen, but it is nice to know that he is going to have a rematch soon.

30 Mar I have linked this article in my Food and Drink post. I am linking it here as well so that more people have more ready access to this important article about getting better food on trains.

31 Mar I love history and always try to incorporate such articles into my posts. The newspapers often make it easier for me by providing fascinating articles about little-known events or tidbits of history. This one is about Indians who fought in World War I.

3 Apr I have similar articles about peculiarities and obstacles to health in Kolkata and India in my Health post. I could have placed this article there but I decided that I had a sufficient number of links there and wanted this to be somewhat timely. In any case, if you come to Kolkata or anywhere in India then be sure to take proper health precautions.

3 Apr This is a fascinating article about the little-known Toto tribe in India, forgotten and neglected by an uncaring government (yes, a redundancy, but I am using it foremphasis).

5 Apr I have always admired David Letterman and preferred his shows over those of Jay Leno (although the latter's Jay-walking skits were always fun to watch). It is a shame that he is now retiring.

7 Apr In another post, I wrote that Bengali music often reminded me of Mexican or Hispanic music as there always seemed to be guitars playing. This article seems to confirm that and to give a brief history of it.

7 Apr After working last evening, I went home. The great thing about India is that even if you do not have a TV you still have a TV. On the way home, I encountered 4-5 places along the footpaths that had televisions, showing the World T20 Cricket Championship between India and Sri Lanka. I was very hopeful for the Indian team. There are apparently three different cricket championships each year, and India had already won two of them. If they had won this game then they would have been the first to win all three in one year.
I still do not understand everything about cricket but I do have a much greater appreciation for it. I now like it much more than I do baseball. There may be as many balls thrown in the game (in T20 cricket matches, there are usually 240 balls thrown (bowled) by both teams, together. However, baseball seems to be far slower and less exciting. The pitcher often throws not to the batter but to the man on first base. The pitcher takes an inordinate amount of time in throwing to the batter, and when he finally does, usually nothing happens. Even if something does happen, the batter often goes nowhere. In cricket, the balls are thrown in quick succession and something almost always happens. On the other hand, there are commercial breaks after each over (six balls thrown).
While watching the game, I noticed that the Indian team hit few 4s and 6s (home runs). This did not bode well. I left for home after watching a few overs.
The next morning, I sensed melancholy in the air. I walked along the same path as before and came across the scoreboard indicating that India had indeed lost. Of course, 2 out of 3 titles is extremely good as virtually all teams do not even get one.
Other articles: When Yuvi cut a sorry figure Kohli, the last man standing for India

9 Apr 40 years of ABBA! Wow, how time flies! I enjoyed listening to them in the 70s-80s, and was re-introduced to them by Caroline who said that she enjoyed listening to them. She also introduced me to Boney M who had a similar style and rhythm to their music.

9 Apr I have a fascination with not only history but also enclaves in India. These are Bangladeshi tracts of land in India, and Indian tracts of land in Bangladesh. I thought that this issue was resolved a year or so ago, but I guess that this is further proof that what the government says is different from what the government does (or does not) do.
Regardless, the article is a fascinating description of the history and current status of the residents.

10 Apr The news is not the news; the description of the news is the news. The article relates how a 51-year old woman was brutally murdered. An investigating officer said that "She was elderly and ailing". She may have been ailing--people can be in ill health at any age, but elderly???????????????
I remember watching the wonderful film Barfi. The bulk of the film takes place in the early-to-mid 1970s. Barfi, portrayed by Ranbir Kapoor, is shown to be a young man in 1972. I think that I would be accurate in saying that Barfi would have been born in 1950. The beginning and ending of the film takes place in the present day (2012, when the film was released) showing Barfi to be a decrepit old man, barely able to walk. Paresh Rawal was also born in 1950 and he is probably more fit, active and healthy than I am even though I am many years younger than he.
It is true that few Indians live to be 80 years old. However, if people are unable to live that long then it should not cause people to be mentally incompetent, as well, and believe that 51 years is "old".

11 Apr I have linked this article in my GaC post, as well, but I feel that this is too important for just one small link. The article shows that the pathological liar (also known as "politicians") Abu Asim Azmi is the new A.P. Singh, the new cockroach that ought to be stomped out of existence.

13 Apr I read this in the 13 Apr Indian edition of the Telegraph, but could not locate it via Google or even its own website. Regardless, Caroline and her father always admired Charlie Chaplin. I watched his film The Circus and found it to be brilliant, ahead-of-its-time, and very funny.

13 Apr I have known for a long time that Shah Rukh Khan is (or was, during the 1990s) famous for playing characters named Rahul or Rohit. I then saw this linked article and saw that Amitabh Bachchan has played many characters named Vijay. Through imdb.com, I counted 17 films in which he played someone named Vijay, including 3 films in 1980!

13 Apr Every Sunday, the t2 section of the Telegraph has an article about very popular videos. I read and watched the video of Thai Life Insurance, greatly admired and appreciated it, but had difficulty in placing it in my blog (where I thought it belonged). I thought about placing it in my upcoming Indian TV Commercials (2014) post, but it was not an Indian commercial. I thought about placing it in my Favourite Other Songs post in which I have songs in languages other than Hindi and English, but it was not a song. Finally, I realized that it was best and most appropriate to place in here.
One thing that I do not understand about it is the number of dislikes. I understand that people's tastes are different. I feel revulsion whenever I hear the songs Why This Kolaveri di and Tum Hi Ho even though these songs were extremely popular in India. On the other hand, there are about 1,200 dislikes (as of 21 Apr 2014) for this commercial of Thai Life Insurance. How can anyone not love this video? Are these 1,200 people so evil that they work as Thieves & Sexual Abusers or as cops in the United States who routinely kill 3 people each and every day?
I hope that you love this commercial as much as I do.

14 Apr What is the matter with Indians???? Government agents saying and doing stupid things are things to be expected, but normal people like journalists??!!! On 10 Apr, an FCM (fee-collecting murderer--formerly known as "police") said that a 51-year old woman was "elderly". In this linked article, it is the journalist who describes a 58-year old man as "elderly". Who are these people? 5-year old children?

15 Aug I have always wondered about actors who dub for films; they never seem to get any credit or recognition for it. This article is about Sonakshi Sinha who apparently has dubbed for Anne Hathaway's character in the film Rio 2

16 Apr I included this in my GaC post, and am including it here because of a personal experience. My wife experienced numerous hardships and delays in selling the home of her deceased mother. To overcome these difficulties, she enlisted the help of the Inspector at the Ekbalpore Police Station. In one of our first meetings with him, she whispered that I ought to give baksheesh (bribe) to him. When I did so, he refused it. Perhaps there is a new Inspector or perhaps the "Officer-in-Charge" title (as mentioned in the linked article) is different

16 Apr Transgenders may have gotten the right to be called the third gender but do they have the right to be the third gender? They could be considered to engage in "unnatural sex" as defined(?) by Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and which was recently upheld by the Indian Supreme Court.

17 Apr As always, I am interested in the unique and the unusual. Indian land in Bangladesh, and Bangladeshi land in India is unusual, so I often provide articles about these enclaves. It seems, though, that I read about them only during election time. It may be another five years before I read another article. I thought that I had read that these problems faced by the dwellers were resolved, but I guess that government "solutions" never materialize.

25 Apr The mere fact that New Market was photographed as being virtually desolate should be news enough.

29 Apr In previous posts, I wrote about famous Americans (primarily) who visited or planned to visit Kolkata or other places in India. I have not done this recently. However, here is an article of Martin Sheen coming to Bhopal. I hope that he does not drink the water. Even after almost 30 years, the water is still contaminated.

29 Apr People know that India gained independence from Great Britain almost 70 years ago. Some people know that the Portuguese also had a large presence in India, originating in the South, and ruling Goa until 1961. People who read my posts may be aware that Bangladesh still has enclaves within India, virtually all of which are in the Cooch Behar district of West Bengal, making them virtually stateless people and prisoners of the enclaves. People who watched the film Life of Pi were aware that the French also had a presence in India. The French government, like that of the Portuguese, also left in the early 1960's.
I, however, was not aware that they ruled Chandernagore, which is a town not far from Kolkata, until the early 1950's, until I read the linked article.

30 Apr The story behind the story to Oprah's Chai Tea launch.

30 Apr I have included similar articles of the Celebex ranking of Indian actors and actresses in one or two previous posts. I am including this one because it seems to confirm a few beliefs of mine.
1) There are a lot of Khans as actors: Salman, Shahrukh, Aamir, Saif Ali, Irrfan (and who has appeared/starred in several Hollywood films, as well), and Imran.
2) There are a lot of Kapoors: Ranbir, Arjun, Shahid, Anil (one of the stars of Slumdog Millionaire), Rishi, Ram, Tusshar, Soonam, Karisma, and Shraddha
3) There are a lot of people with the initials of "A.K.": Aamir Khan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, Arjun Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, and Ayesha Khanna
4) There are a lot of "K.K." (all of them females): Katrina Kaif, Karisma, Kirron Kher, and Kalki Koechlin
5) Several famous people are known by one name: Rajinikanth, Govinda, Kajol, Sridevi and Rekha.
6) Some people fit into two of these categories. One person fits into three: Kareena Kapoor (her birth name), Kareena Kapoor Khan (the name she is sometimes referred to after marrying Saif Ali Khan) and "K.K."

Two significant pieces of advice:

Find a place with an easy visa policy I did not have an option. My wife is Indian so I went to India

If you are Indian then perhaps Singapore, Dubai, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Mauritius as many Indians--even labourers--often go there. Other good alternatives are Nepal which--I have read once--has an open border with Indian citizens and Bhutan which may have a similar policy.

If you are a citizen elsewhere then you may want to choose a place of your heritage. India has an excellent program called the OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) which allows you virtually all the "benefits" of citizenship except that you can not vote nor hold a government job. (But who, in his or her right mind, would want to do that anyway?) I have read that Ireland has a similar program, or perhaps easier citizenship, if your ancestors are Irish. Perhaps very many other countries offer similar visa/citizenship programs for their descendants.

If you are from the U.S. then a possibility(?) may be to go to Cuba. The U.S. does not have diplomatic relations with Cuba. I do not know the visa policies of Cuba, but if they are lax then you can hide out there. However, if and when the U.S. resumes diplomatic relations with this country then things may be more difficult for you. With the same principle in mind, you can also hide out in North Korea. However, I would consider that to be a very dangerous and fearful place to stay.

For a specific country with an easy visa policy, I recommend the Philippines. They offer a Retirement Visa which is also known as the SRRV and which is especially attractive.

You may want to consider having a World passport issued by the World Service Authority. I do not know how that will affect getting a visa but I have a theory that the World passport can be an excellent resource in some situations, and which I will elaborate upon in future posts or even an ebook (if I can find sufficient information and verification).

I also recommend that you go where the expats are. According to Expat-Blog.com, the most amount of expat bloggers (a good indication of where there are expats) are in (in alphabetical order)

1) Africa: Kenya, Morocco and South Africa. It also says that Egypt has many expats, but because of the political turmoil, I would not recommend it now.

2) Asia. Virtually anywhere is heavily populated by expats, including China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. It also says that there are very many in Japan (just one fewer than that of first-ranked China) but it is my impression that the Japanese are extremely poor speakers of English (and presumably worse in other languages) so, even more than in other countries, you will need to learn the native language. There are surprisingly few expat bloggers in the Philippines. In Cebu, I saw very many foreigners with Filipina girlfriends or wives. In India, a large majority of bloggers are women. Perhaps that is the case in the Philippines as well and perhaps there are not many female expats in the Philippines.

3) Central America: Belize, Costa Rica and Honduras.

4) Europe: England, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland all have more than 100 expat bloggers. Belgium is close behind, with 93 expat bloggers.

5) Middle East: Israel, Kuwait and Turkey. Saudi Arabia is actually the leader but, like Egypt, I do not recommend it at this time.

6) North America: There is a paucity of an adequate selection, with only Canada and Mexico being realistic. The U.S. leads in the number of expat bloggers, but I do not understand why people would want to break into prison; normal human beings want to escape from it.

7) Oceania Australia and New Zealand. There are many islands and new countries here that I think would make this region especially attractive. There are 4 bloggers from New Caledonia, although 3 such blogs are defunct.

8) South America: Argentina, Brazil and Ecuador. Because of its physical size and population you would think that Brazil is the leader by far but it has 111 bloggers while the much smaller Argentina has more, at 116.

You may want to contact the bloggers in your desired country for advice, by writing a comment in a blog post or by finding them on Google+ or Facebook. Make sure that the blog is not defunct so that you can get a ready, accurate and current response.

I would also recommend that you join (or at least, read) the forums of people in your desired country. Excellent forums are: India: indiamike.com; Singapore: forum.singaporeexpats.com; Spain: spainexpat.com In general, you can go to expatforum.com and join your desired country or go to http://britishexpat.com/expatforum/general/ if you are from the United Kingdom. If you are an expat woman in the Middle East (or Singapore or Hong Kong) then you can join http://www.expatwoman.com/ You can also google "[your desired location] expat forum".

Learn language beforehand I have had a few problems in learning Hindi: a) verbs In hindsight though, they are far more logical in Hindi than they are in English. b) mera and mujhe I could never understand the nuances between these words for my and mine, and different books seemed to contradict others in this regard. Both examples show the importance of learning and being tested in a formal setting (i.e., classroom) in an area with which you are familiar.

Even if you think that you know the language, learn the language. I always knew that English and Hindi are the national languages of India. When I first visited and stayed in India (in the tourist district of Calcutta/Kolkata), most visitors spoke English and, as a result, most of the business people knew English. In other parts of Kolkata and of India, English is spoken and understood by far fewer people. I suspect that the Philippines is very similar. Whenever I went to the Philippines, I went to Cebu. Everyone there spoke English very well. More recently, I have learned that the city is a hub for expats, much like Singapore and Dubai. There is even a separate forum for expats in Cebu and a website and a website specifically for Americans there. I suspect that the situation is different in the towns and villages of the Philippines in which you ought to learn (as in India) the state/provincial/regional language and/or the national language (Tagalog). Thus, even if you speak English and go to an English-speaking country you ought to learn the language.

Even if you know the language, learn the language. If you are from the United States and want to move to the United Kingdom then there are very, very many differences in spelling and diction between these two English-speaking countries. I think that the only two countries that share virtually the same language is the United States and Canada (other than Quebec). Similarly, if you are from Portugal and want to move to Brazil then I know that there are many differences in the use of the Portuguese language.

Even if you learn the language, know the language. I read a blog post of someone who studied Spanish for several years and then went to reside in Spain. She still experienced difficulty in communicating.

Today (16 May 2014) is the day that would have been my 30th Anniversary with Wells Fargo, a company that I worked for slightly more than 24 years. Looking back on my life, I have always had good employers, and I have never had the stereotypical job at McDonald's. If I had, then I might still have been content with it but I think that I have had more meaningful jobs. I now work with employers at Freelancer.com. (Hence the paucity of blog posts in recent times, and I shall elaborate upon this in a future blog post.) The company is giving me constant problems but the employers who give me assignments have all been wonderful so far. In this regard, I think that I am blessed.

I did start out by having a stereotypical newspaper route, back when there was still such a thing as print newspapers. Here in India, people have not yet migrated from print newspapers to online news (although both Times of India and the Telegraph have online versions of their daily newspapers). Here in Kolkata, I am aware of three (possibly more) English-language newspapers, and I believe equal amounts of Hindi and of Bengali-language newspapers. I have even seen a newspaper in Oriya, and there most likely is a newspaper in Bihari here (as there are many immigrants from that state, primarily as taxi-drivers and other labourers). Unlike the boys on bicycles in my youth, the people who deliver the daily (although I delivered a weekly) newspaper are grown men, some of whom are my age or older. However, they also deliver newspapers from their bicycles.
I then worked for Novato Boys' and Girls' Club and then for the prestigious Columbia Park Boys' Club. Because the person who ran the Club was "old school", it stayed as being only a social service agency for boys, and including girls only recently.
The Program Director there knew a high muck-a-muck at Wells Fargo Bank, and when I felt that I had accomplished everything that I wanted to accomplish at CPBC, I asked for an interview with her. A few interviews later, I was placed in a department. I made a few transfers within Wells Fargo, and I think that the position at which I was happiest was when I became a Personal Banker (or New Accounts Officer). For me, it was always on-the-job training and I think that I pestered my colleagues with so many questions, often repeated, that I am sure that I exasperated them. After six months, however, I had acquired so much knowledge that they started to ask me questions.
Eventually, though, I had to leave. While working at Wells Fargo, I was led to the woman who would become my wife. After getting married, she encountered numerous, horrific experiences with the vermin (I apologize, I meant to write "well-meaning public servants") at the Passport Office in Kolkata and at the U.S. Consulate in Mumbai. After many years, she did arrive in San Francisco, only to dislike the cold. It was then decided that I should try to come to India. I discovered W.G. Hill and I soon had the opportunity, so I decided to retire early.

Eventually, though, everybody retires. When you retire--either early or after reaching a certain age--and if you decide then to become an expat/PT then I have some advice for you.
Advice is usually bad. Even when it is good, it is bad. Smokers with lung cancer and people who commit drink-driving/drunk-driving/driving under the influence often go on to advocate against those activities. However, if they never listened to others then why should they think that others will listen to them? I have made many mistakes, some within and some outside of my control. I have made mistakes regarding my visa (more on this in an upcoming blog post) and financial matters. Yet, I am asking you to listen to me.
Sometimes, though, it is better to listen to the message rather than the messenger. If Adolf Hitler said, "Love thy neighbour!" and if Mother Theresa said, "Rape all Indian women!" then I would be more apt to listen to Hitler in this regard. Stefan Molyneux, in several of his videos, says that you should be consistent and to practice what you preach. That is perhaps the ideal advice, but I hope that you can learn from these things, most of which I learned the hard way.
Two significant pieces of advice can be found in Part 2, but first and foremost is:
Remember Murphy's Law. I am often successful in things within my control; not so much in things out of my control. I do not know why both my wife and I encountered Dante Aligheri's Ninth Ring of Hell in our endevours to get proper visas. As someone recently pointed out to me, many Indians get visas to attend school and to work abroad, each and every year. Here in India--and especially as a blogger--I have become aware of many expats here, and I have read little, if anything, about them encountering difficulties in staying here. I suppose that Murphy's Law is selective in people and in occasions. A good friend of mine always says, "Hope for the best and prepare for the worst." It seems to be the best way to counter-attack or ameliorate the effects of Murphy.
Be aware of climate conditions In the U.S., I worked for a bank and wore long-sleeved shirts. In India, I gave virtually all of them away and now rely on short-sleeved shirts.
Buy home early (see Murphy's Law) If you wait to "save more money" then you may end up losing money. Even if your savings is not wiped out in a future Great Depression III, then your money will be spent on rent, and if your money is not earning enough to keep up with local increases in real estate rates then postponing buying a home will also cost you money.
I have found that I need just a) roof over my head b) running water. & hot water in Winter c) western toilets d) distractions (tv, newspapers, internet). If you have similar simple needs then you ought to buy such a home when you arrive.
Throw everything away Well, maybe not everything. Read my posts My Life in Boxes, My Life in a Suitcase and my guest post Nothing Lacking, the World is Yours at subhorup.blogspot.in
Find a source of activity/income. I recently came across a news article about the educational organization edx.org, and now I think that I may enroll in a class in the foreseeable future. If you want or need income then you may want to look at freelancer.com. They have very many projects each day in very many fields such as writing and research (my favourites), website and IT-related jobs, translation needs, graphic design, etc.
Do not care what people think. After all, you will probably never see them again. When we shifted to a new area, I found a chai-stand that also offered biscuits, with a small shop nearby that offered buttered bread. Caroline disliked people seeing her sitting by the footpath, but I enjoyed the cheapness and uniqueness and of watching the activity going on.
"Which country?" Which country is which? and "Which country are you from?" are asked by people whose comprehension of English is extremely low. I usually answer "India" or "Here"; after all, if you live in a place then you are from that place. However, they almost always misunderstand and think that I said that I am from France or Russia or even Japan! I let them think what they want to think, and because of their inability to communicate in English, there is never any follow-up questions.
Do care what people think. I have found that my former circle of friends and colleagues greatly diminished. As a result of that, I joined a few social networking sites: first Classmates.com, then Orkut (still popular in India and Brazil) and now Google+.
Another good suggestion is to interact in person, perhaps by joining a club, association or organization. If you enjoy playing chess then do join a chess club.

Sometimes, a post will come from a post which was developed from another post which, in turn, was developed from another post. For example, I wrote about Kolkata and various topics about it. However, there were some things were somewhat mundane, so I developed posts of Kolkata Daily Life. In them, I soon began to include news articles that I read in the daily newspapers. After awhile, though, these news items became too numerous so I compiled monthly News Other posts. (Due to my increased--and paid--obligations through Freelancer.com, these posts are on hiatus.) Occasionally, a news article will be significant and I will devote a whole post to that one topic.

This is such a topic.

During March and April, I saw several of the following "public interest" articles in the Times of India. I think that there were many more, but I did not pay much attention to them until toward the end, and there were the only ones that I could find and link. Regardless, the pictures attempt to state that non-voters do not have rights and choices (or that their rights and choices are more limited). In reality, the opposite (that non-voters are the only true believers of rights, choices and responsibilities) is true and in reality, the opposite (that voters minimize or even abrogate rights and choices--if voting changed anything they'd make it illegal).

The translation of the Hindi words are (according to Caroline): Load-shedding Party; Rubbish/garbage League; Empty Bucket/promises(?) Party; and Blowing of Smoke Party

The translation of the Hindi words below are: Unsafe Woman's Party; Day-After-Day/delaying Party; and Money is the Main Force Party.

Especially offensive is the "People's Pothole Party", which can only come from the illogical and inherently contradictory mind of a statist. What can this possibly mean? People do vote, so there can be no such thing as bad infrastructure according to the "logical" conclusion of this statist. If there is poor infrastructure then it was created by the very people he is in favour of. Why is he confessing to self-contradiction? He is not aiding in his cause.

Or, does he mean that voters will purposely create bad infrastructure and then force non-voters to use it? It is well known by thinking people that statism is an inherently harmful form of society, but it is unusual for statists, themselves, to confess this. Why is he doing that? Why is he confessing that he wants to see people harmed? He is not helping his cause.

However, more than voters or non-voters, it is taxpayers who pay for and support infrastructure. Does this statist have no concern for those who sweat and toil to earn enough money for not only their families but also society? Again, it is well known that statists have no concern for human beings and throw their allegiance at political rulers who are "leaders" only at the point of a gun, but it is unusual for a statist to confess this. If taxpayers are paying for good infrastructure but are receiving poor infrastructure then perhaps too much much was diverted to politicians, the individuals he adores but who are also the cause of the problem. Why is this statist contradicting himself? He is not aiding himself in his cause.

Moreover, if this statist wants people to vote then why does he not want people to vote? Indian citizens living abroad cannot vote because it is inconvenient to the government to allow them to vote. Some criminals cannot vote, but other criminals (see below) can vote. People under 18 cannot vote, nor can people born in India if they are not "Indians". Kalki Koechlin was born in Puducherry (shown in Life of Pi) but only recently became a citizen. Before that, she could not not vote, and had to deal with people whose mothers had killed themselves because they were ashamed that their sons became FRRO employees. There could be good reasons for these people not being allowed to vote, but if the statist is advocating people voting then he ought to give logically consistent reasons why these people should not vote.

However, the shit has now hit the fan, which even the delusional statist (yes, a redundancy, but I am writing it for emphasis) cannot ignore nor negate. People have voted, and they have voted for the very things that the statist railed against for non-voters; people have voted for murderous, thieving, raping thugs (and here and here).

Do not allow any of this to happen in the future and certainly do not support this happening in the future. Support true rights and choices; become a non-voter.

Or not.

About two years ago, I wrote a post that stated that my only sources of English songs were America's Got Talent and Youtube. That is still true.

About one year ago, to enter a forum in which I would get paid for writing, I submitted an article about the best auditions during last season's America's Got Talent.

Recently, I thought that I should provide a similar article here. I confess that I am not perfect, not all-knowing and all-wise, and do not have special knowledge of the ultimate outcome. I further confess that some of my personal favourites may not go as far as I expect them to go. I confess that I am most moved by songs and by dances, so my selection is heavily weighted toward that. Hence, I am adding those who appear to have a lot of fans and who generated good reviews. Regardless, I am certain that all of the ten finalists will be found here, and the the ultimate winner is also listed here.

Or not. After all, the youtube special has not been aired, and there could be another Jackie Evancho there.

Acte II

Perhaps the new Forte?

Atlanta Professional Dance Academy
I have not seen as many exciting dance acts as I had hoped to see. This may be one of the best.

Blue Journey

Miguel Dakota
It is not my type of music, but he does have a good singing voice, a good back-story, and very many fans.

David & Leeman

Frank the Singer
I think that this could be the year of the older acts.

Mara Justine

Bob Markworth

The Mime
OF COURSE we will see him in the finals!

Rokardy

Smoothini

Honourable Mentions
Abigail Baird I fear that future performances may become routine.
Anna Clendening Like many other people, she has a great back-story which can take her far.
Jaycob Curlee I think that his biggest competition is Miguel Dakota. I do not know who will go further.
Dom the Bom
Emil & Dariel
Julia Goodwin
John & Andrew
Kamikaze Fireflies
Mighty Atom I think that his biggest competition is Rokardy
Adrian Romoff He already has an enormous number of views at youtube, but I do not see the reason why.
Willis Clan
(Oops. I thought that I listed 10, but I now count 11. Even with that extra one, I probably have missed some worthy acts.)

You may have noticed a paucity in my blogging for the past several months. That is because of my desire and need to earn some recompense by writing at Freelancer.com. You may have also noticed that I have been entering many contests at Indiblogger.in. That is because of my desire and need to earn some prizes.

Many of the themes of these contests do not always fit in well with the theme and purpose of my blog. A few months ago, I wrote a post about a tablet. The post did not fit well into my blog, but I am still proud of it because it showed my creative and humourous side.

Currently, Indiblogger has a contest about writing about the country of Oman. At first, I thought that this was yet another such contest which would not fit well into my blog and did not have a desire to enter the contest as I had never been to Oman. Then, I thought about it more and realized that it did fit in well into my blog. If nothing else, I think that my blog is about travelling, and exploring and expanding your options. This, then, is what I have learned about Oman and what I share with you now so that you can explore further your options.

In my Favourite Places post, I wrote about seven qualities that I felt were important in selecting a place to live for an extended period of time.
Beaches Unless the country is landlocked, it ought to have at least some beaches. However, some places are more known for its beaches than others. I think of Europe as being too far North (and cold) and not having been able to develop good beaches (other than the French Riviera, and perhaps a few other isolated places).
Australia, Hawaii, San Francisco, Goa and Chennai all have wonderful beaches. I believe that both Cebu and Sentosa (an island just off of Singapore) have wonderful beaches but, even though I have been to those locations many times, I have not yet visited the beaches. Oman does have beautiful beaches. Various sources say that its coastline is anywhere from 1700 km (about 1,056 miles) to 2,810 km (about 1,746 miles).

English well known, or an easy-to-learn alphabet. One of the many obstacles I have faced in attempting to learn Hindi is the vast difference in alphabets. I think that learning Vietnamese would be far easier because--other than accent marks--the written language resembles the letters of English. Unfortunately, the language(s) of Oman are primarily of the Arabic script.

However, English is well known throughout Oman, especially in the cities and in tourist areas. If you are Indian then you will be happy to know that Hindi is sometimes understood, and even Malayalam has become a prominent language in the country.

Geographically large If I am going to stay in a country and avoid the hassles, inconvenience and expense of international travel then I would want the country to be large enough to travel within its borders. I sometimes think living in the Marshall Islands or other Pacific island nation would be paradise. However, the Marshall Islands are not that much larger than the city of San Francisco. San Francisco does have a great many things to offer, and I believe that there are people there who were born, raised and lived their entire lives within the city. This is admirable, but I think that I may get claustrophobic after awhile.

I have also thought of being in Thailand (although the current political climate precludes that), the Philippines or Vietnam for its people, or Malaysia for its splendour. Oman is about the same size as Malaysia so it matches my parameters for area.

Good infrastructure, especially in terms of transportation, such as buses and trains. One of the things that I enjoy about India and Australia are their vastness and the ability to travel long distances by trains. Having ridden on trains, I think that journeys exceeding 36 hours approach the upper limits of human endurance or tolerance, so I think that many places in Russia, China, Canada, the United States and Brazil would be off limits in that case. My wife always dreams of living in the South where bus transportation is readily and easily available to other cities.
Oman does not seem to have a current rail service although they expect to have one by 2018. However, Oman does have a regular and dependable bus service between cities, and even between Muscat and Dubai. This last fact surprised me, and I wondered how far was the distance. However, from timeanddate, I learned that it was only 378 kilometres or 235 miles.
Peaceful relations with neighbouring nations I often think that Goa would be great place to reside partly because it is one of the states that do not border another country. India is not always on friendly and peaceful terms with its immediate neighbours.
According to the 2014 Global Peace Index, Oman is ranked #59. This may not seem impressive but it is far better than both India (#143) and the United States (#101, which is not surprising, given that Terrorists & Sexual Abusers prowl the airports and the police force kills first and asks questions later). Oman's neighbours of United Arab Emirates (#40) and Saudi Arabia (#80) are also peaceful.
Rich cultural history, a unique place. I do not think that I mentioned this characteristic explicitly in my Favourite Places post, but I think that it was implied. I appreciate India for its history, film industry and excellence in cricket. I think that other countries should also have a USP (unique selling point) and have sufficient resources to offer things that people want.
When I was young, I was greatly interested in the game of chess and became somewhat adept at playing it. I hope to once again become an expert at it. In India, it is easy to find chess clubs. I was surprised to find that chess is relatively prevalent in Oman as well. The country, though, seems to be known for ship-building. The people, themselves, are described as being humble and polite but segregated. Also, you have to realize that because Oman is heavily Islamic, Sharia law rules the land.

Small towns, where I can look up and see the stars at night. I think that I am a city-boy, but I do like the opportunity to look up and see the stars at night as I did in my childhood. Of course, if a place has large cities then it also has small cities, towns and villages. Europe has large cities, but even in the small towns there may be too much glare to see the stars.
In Oman, the very largest city is the capital, Muscat which is smaller in population than San Francisco; the tenth largest city is Rustaq which has about 80,000 inhabitants. Oman, in general, is very sparsely populated, giving a great opportunity to see the stars.

For expats in general, specifically and pertinently are the qualities of
Region Expat-blog.com divides the world up into eight regions. I view Africa much as many people view Oakland: there is no there there. Europe seems to have become the Europe of 1984. North America is dominated by the Gulag Archipelago (which, surprisingly, has a lot of expat bloggers although why anyone would want to break into prison is beyond my understanding). I have read many wonderful things about Central/Latin America for expats but, as I mentioned above, I might feel claustrophobic after awhile. South America is worth considering but, as of yet, I have no interest. For Oceania, Australia can be good but perhaps it is too well developed and is not known for being affordable which is something that most expats yearn for.
That leaves 1) Asia which has almost all of my favourites of India, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore (although not affordable) and Thailand (if and when stability returns); and 2) Middle East (although, of course, you would not want to be in Iraq or Syria at this time). Most of the bloggers are in Saudi Arabia (116 bloggers) and Turkey (115). However, Oman and Qatar are tied for 5th place with 30 bloggers each. A very active blog--although one devoted solely to Muscat--is Aish Elaqtta
Visa Policy Oman has a friendly VOA (visa-on-arrival) policy for very many citizens, including those of India, the United States and the United Kingdom. For U.S. citizens, the cost--according to the government website--is about USD13.00 for a 10-day visa and about USD52.00 for a 30-day visa. This does not make sense. A person can save money simply by applying for a 10-day visa and then renewing it twice. Perhaps, however, you cannot renew it within the country and would have to make a visa run after 10 days.
For longer term visas for Indian citizens, I recommend that you contact the visa experts at Y-Axis. For those of U.S. citizens, this webpage implies that a 10-year tourist visa is available but the link is not functional, and this webpage does say that a 1-year tourist visa is available but that the holder can stay in Oman for no more than 21 days at a time, necessitating frequent visa runs to Dubai or other places. Perhaps the most reputable and authoritative website is this one which describes, among other things, the Investor Residence Visa. This one does seem to be the one most appealing, pertinent and beneficial to many expats. However, it does not mention the investment required.
Of course, I could be incorrect and may have misinterpreted the information that I read. Moreover, I have not verified any of this information with the Oman Embassy. However, if you do want information and especially if I have not referred to your country then you can still feel free to write to me and I will utilize all of my resources to get you accurate and up-to-date information on your visa options to Oman.

Of course, if you can and want to avail of the VOA to Oman then I am certain that you will enjoy your visit.

The Train is just 138 minutes--significantly shorter than the stereotypical three hours for Indian films--and seems even briefer as Youtube breaks up the film into ten parts. (See Part 1 for the best search parameter.)

The song-and-dance routine that started all of this is O Mera Jaan Main ne Kaha. As I wrote in the first part, it is kitschy, garish and outlandish--everything that made films from this period so unique and interesting.

It is sung by R.D. Burman and Asha Bhosle who married each other in 1980 even though she was six years older than he and even though they had both been divorced from their first spouses. Unfortunately, R.D. Burman died fewer than 14 years later, at the young age of 54.
Perhaps even more stereotypical of this period is the song Ne Soniye which shows dancing around the trees (although this scene is simply a film set) which was belittled in the film Rang de Basanti, and singing in the rain (although this scene shows them in a fountain).

In watching the film, I began to question and wonder about the history of fight scenes in Hindi cinema in which the hero (or heroes) fight perhaps a dozen or so villains at the same time. I had thought that such scenes were inspired by Bruce Lee. However, this film predates Bruce's entrance into the Indian awareness.
This post seems to imply that fight scenes were inspired by the Batman television series in the United States. This could very well be true because, even though I have watched few Hindi films from before the mid 1960s, I believe that virtually none of those films had fight scenes in them. The Train is probably one of the earliest films to have fight scenes, and it does have several.

The film stars Rajesh Khanna who is often referred to as the first Super Star of Hindi Cinema, Nanda who appeared in 67 films from 1952 to 1995 and who died a few months ago (on 25 March 2014), and Helen who appeared in almost 500 films (often in item songs) and who was about 3 years older than Rajesh Khanna which is a rarity for playing a love interest to the leading actor.

It also features Rajendra Nath who plays a hapless character, and who is often sleepy and who has a scene in which he showers with his clothes on. I cannot explain this other than to say that it may have been an attempt at infusing comedy into the film. If so then it was a poor attempt.
Madan Puri has a small role in the film, and Chaman Puri has a screen credit; both are brothers to Amrish Puri who starred in the Hollywood film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Many people believe that Amrish Puri is a brother to Om Puri (who starred in the Hollywood film City of Joy); I read that this belief was fomented by Om Puri himself because he was tired of everybody asking whether or not they were related and just gave an answer that people wanted to believe. I have just now read that they may have been cousins. However, I suspect that this is misinformation as I have never read any other article stating that. Regardless, Madan Puri was significantly older (by about 17 years) than Amrish Puri, and almost nothing is known about Chaman Puri except that he featured in 60 films from 1949 to 1989.
Lastly, it features Iftekhar as the police commissioner. I hope that this did not unduly stretch his acting capabilities. (Ha ha--he is known for his many roles as a police officer.)

Perhaps more importantly and relevantly is that it stars Bombay (as Mumbai was known then), Maharashtra and history itself. As stated in the title, this film was produced in 1970 so it is a time capsule of how things were almost half-a-century ago.
I loved seeing the scenes of VT (Victoria Terminus)--now known as CST (Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus)--the train terminal that featured in Slumdog Millionaire, and loved seeing the train stations in other parts of India, as well as the scenes of Bombay.
The scenes within the trains were obviously from a film set, and showed beautiful wooden interiors. I found this to be peculiar. It was later explained that it was a First Class compartment, but I am still unsure about actual trains having wooden interiors.
I also saw a few cars that had the steering wheel on the left-hand side of the car. I have seen other such cars in older films but do not understand why they exist. I suppose that they were imported from the United States, but I would think that the auto manufacturers would have made the adjustments. It certainly seems to be a more dangerous way of driving. Regardless, such cars are now banned in India.
It was also enlightening to watch two actors having a meal that amounted to just eight rupees for both. Rajendra Nath's character gives the waiter ten rupees and tells him to keep the change, to which the waiter expressed gratitude for the two rupee tip. Two rupees, in this case, is a 25% tip but 25% of nothing (now) is still nothing (now).
While watching the video, I thought of it as being a masala film (action, comedy, romance, drama and melodrama). According to Wikipedia, such films ran from the 1970s to the 1980s so The Train is probably one of the earliest films that not only uses fight scenes (see above) but also is a masala film. In such films, the plot (the crimes, the murders, and the framing of an innocent man--Nanda's charachter's father) is just a ruse to show the love interest(s) (in this case, Rajesh Khanna's wooing Nanda and then his former flame--Helen--when rebuffed by Nanda).
In such films, everything always seems to be resolved in the final scene, comprising one minute. In this case, Neeta (played by Nanda) is shown to be innocent although there was strong evidence against her, Helen is shown to be a villain, Shyam (Rajesh Khanna) becomes engaged to Neeta, and Neeta's father (who was re-arrested by Rajesh Khanna, while Helen surreptitiously watches) is freed.

In such films, dialogue is less important than the plot, both of which have little social significance. As such, there was little important, meaningful or even noteworthy dialogue. One exception was an early statement by Shyam (Rajesh Khanna) saying, "Don't be scared. The police is to protect and not to harass". This statement is belied by reality and by Shyam's own later actions of arresting his future father-in-law and of continually threatening to arrest witnesses.

If you do want to watch a masala film from the early 1970s then there are most likely better ones. The Train is good for the songs but not for much else. Even with the subtitles, it is a forgettable film.

Ssssshhhhhhhhhhhhh. I have a secret to tell you. I have found a found an ever-flowing font of information and entertainment. It is called Youtube.com. Do not tell anyone. If you do then people may feel nervous and no longer upload videos.

A few months ago, I wrote that I wanted to watch and review Hindi films that I found on Youtube, provided that they were subtitled. At the time that I wrote that, I thought that I would look for films that I did not see--for whatever reason--in the cinema hall. 3 Idiotswas such a movie. Moreover, I wrote this review at a time when it was overtaken by the drivel known as Chennai Express as the highest-grossing Hindi film of all time.
I thought that I would look also for films that were my favourites, films that I enjoy watching over and over again, films such as Roja, Mohabbatein, Kabhi Alvida na Kehna, Mr. India and others. I have not yet watched them on Youtube (assuming that they are there, in subtitled form) but hope to do so in the near future.
More recently, I thought that I should look for films that are part of particular genres. I watched Krrish 3 (in the cinema hall) partly because I wanted to discuss super-heroes in Indian cinema. I watched Bhagam Bhag (on Youtube) because I wanted to discuss comedy. I also want to discuss horror but have not yet found a noteworthy and relevant film to watch and review.
Lately, when I watch television, I watch the channels that show SAD (song-and-dance) routines from Hindi films. (I am sure that there are other channels that show similar SAD routines in Bengali, Telegu, Tamil and other languages, but I do not pay any attention to them.) About half of these channels specialize in SAD routines from recent films, while the other half shows older films. I usually watch the latter as "they are nice to the ears" as Caroline has always described them.
Two nights ago, I watched a catchy song from a film released in 1970. It was then that I thought that I should watch and review a film from this era.

I watched my first Hindi film in 1993, and in the 20 years since then, I have watched well over 1,000 Hindi films, most of which were forgetable. They were forgetable, in the beginning, because they were on VHS tapes which were almost never subtitled so I had difficulty in understanding the nuances of the film. They were forgetable in the beginning and later on because I often did not know the actors so I had difficulty in relating to them. Also, there was no such thing as Imdb and Wikipedia to help me unterstand the film (both of which I did use to help me prepare watching ABCD: Any Body Can Dance). Later on, I did begin to appreciate the actors and later on, films were available on DVD, most of which were subtitled.

Since my arrival in India almost five years ago, I have noticed a few disturbing (to me) trends in Hindi films:
1) The SAD routines are getting fewer and shorter. The songs are also getting noisier. There are exceptions (see the bottom of Favourite Hindi Songs) but earlier, the average song was more melodious.
2) The films are getting shorter. I remember watching the film Delhi Belly, starring Imran Khan, and just when I thought that it was time to have an intermission, the film ended!
3) As I have written at least once, all good things began with Shahrukh Khan. The films were better produced, and the stories seemed to be more creative when he arrived on the scene. Now, unfortunately, all good things have ended with Shahrukh Khan. With the exception of My Name is Khan, his films have been disappointments. His best film may have been Billu but in that, his appearance was more-or-less just a friendly appearance/cameo. His death-knell was Chennai Express. Although the film was a blockbuster at the box office, there was no story and the songs were dreadful. I do not know what repercussions, if any, this will have on films for the rest of the decade.

For a long time, I have thought that films from the first nine years of this century were technically the best, and the stories and acting were generally superior to those of other decades. More and more films used special effects, which was virtually unheard of prior to this century. Many of the films in my Favourite Movies post belong to this time-frame.

I have also thought that films from the 90s were those of a decade in transition (or maybe it is the very definition of the evolution of films and film-making). It was a time of experimentation, as shown by the directors Mani Ratnam and Karan Johar, and the emergence of the 3 Khans (Shahrukh, Aamir and Salman) who, coincidentally, were born in 1965. The SAD routines shifted from being amongst the trees and moved to more realistic venues.

The overwhelming majority of films that I watched during 1993--2013 were released during 1993--2013. However, I have watched older films. The 80s did seem to be a vacuum, though. Almost all of the big-name actors were gone or neglected. There was only Amitabh Bachchan, and his downfall came in or around 1984, and he did not regain his stature until 16 years later, in 2000, when he co-starred in Mohabbatein (a film inspired by the Hollywood film, Dead Poets' Society) along with Shahrukh Khan. In this void, Mithun Chakraborty, Sunny Deol, Anil Kapoor and others tried to fill, but they never attained the stature of Amitabh nor of those of previous leading men.

The films of the mid-70s to early-80s did result in many memorable films, including Karz (to which Shahrukh Khan's 2007 film, Om Shanti Om was a paean); Dream Girl (which apparently flopped at the box office, but Hema Malini--the lead actress--was always referred to as "Dream Girl" afterwards); and most notably Sholay (it is impossible to overstate the impact and significance that this film has made in India).

The SAD that I watched on television was, as I said, from a 1970 film. It was kitschy, garish and outlandish--everything that made films from the mid-60s to mid-70s fun to watch. Another reason why I wanted to watch and review such a film was that it has been a very long time since I have watched an old film. I watch SAD routines from this time period, but I have not yet had the opportunity to watch an entire film.
At the same time, I was apprehensive about it. I realized that not every film is on Youtube; recent films may be on Youtube, but older films are probably less likely to be found there. Even if it was found there then it would be extremely unlikely that it was subtitled.
The film was called The Train and it is on Youtube and it is subtitled! At the same time, it is not on Youtube and it is not subtitled! Unlike other films that I have seen, it is not an entire film; it is broken into parts--ten, to be precise. The best way to find and watch these parts is to put The_Movie_of_Nanda_And_Rajesh Khanna_The Train 1970 Part into the search box (you can copy-paste this phrase from here). You will then see ten parts, in no particular order. Find Part 1, click it, watch it, and then do the same for Part 2. (If someone does find the entire film, then please tell me so that I can provide that in this review.) It is also not subtitled or, at least, not in the expected way. Usually, there is a button or message at the bottom of the video that says "Click CC for subtitles". These videos do not have that. However, the subtitles are already on the screen!

Please read Part 2 of this film review to find my thoughts and reactions to this specific film.

My luck seems to be returning.

For a long time, I enjoyed writing blog posts for various contests at Indiblogger.in. Many of the contests were relevant to my blog so I was very happy to be given an opportunity and an incentive to write. The beginning of the end, though, seemed to be when I wrote about a tablet. It had no relevance to my blog, although I did enjoy writing it and I am still proud of it because it showed off my creative and humourous side. However, I have yet to win a contest so my luck is not yet as great as I wish it to be.

After the tablet contest, there were no contests that inspired me to write. Recently, however, the Oman Tourism Ministry sponsored a contest. At first, I was reluctant to enter it as I had never been to Oman. However, I decided to research the country and to write an article that would be of benefit to those who decide to travel to/reside in another country, which is relevant to my blog.

Today, I saw a contest sponsored by the Godrej aer company. An air freshener, like a tablet, is not relevant to my blog but the contest asked writers to write about a fragrant travel experience, which is relevant to this blog.

However, this concept that is being presented may seem peculiar and quizzical. After all, people travel for the sights and, perhaps, the sounds of a place; no one travels to capture the smell of a place. However, fragrance does play a part in many places, which I shall elaborate upon below.

I should preface this description by saying that my sense of smell was, and perhaps still is, very weak. As a child, I think that I had a normal sense of smell but when I hit puberty, it seemed to have disappeared. I could never smell things that others smelt, and I could smell things only if they were very strong in odour and/or close to my nose.
My sense of smell seemed to have returned, for better or for worse, upon my arrival in Kolkata. Here, I have smelt the pig-sty near New Market; the meat markets inside New Market, along Kalinga Lane and other places; and the public urinals on various streets and at train stations, and the streets that are used as public urinals. If Godrej aer can produce an air freshener that counteracts these smells then it is the greatest company that has ever been and ever will be.

Having said that, I still cannot smell things that I should and want to smell, and would think that there is some aroma attached. I have frequently visited the very beautiful Changi Airport which is usually considered the best airport in the world, stayed at the Taj Bengal Hotel for my honeymoon, and ate at very nice restaurants. In none of those places do I associate any aromas with them.

However, there are three exceptions.in my travels.

On my 21st birthday, I bought a bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey. I drank it; it tasted awful; I mixed it with some other things to make it palatable; it still tasted awful. I had, however, finished a goodly portion of it, and soon passed out. I woke up to having the world's worst hangover. For many years thereafter, I was a teetotaler.
Then, a colleague of mine introduced me to Long Island Iced Tea and, a few years later, she became a bartender at the Civic Center Holiday Inn. I began to frequent the place and a few times she was away so she introduced me to a friend who was a bartender at the Clement Street Bar & Grill. I began to alternate my visits to both of these wonderful places, began to search out similar bar and restaurants in my travels, and now view them as being the very best restaurants for their consistently good menus and service.
Upon my arrival in Kolkata, I had a seven-hour layover in Singapore. As always, it was a very long flight and, as always, I had difficulty in getting sleep on the plane so at Changi, I sat down in one of the chairs close to the gate, fell asleep and did not wake up until after the plane had left! That had never happened to me before! I found out that the next flight to Kolkata was two days away (now, there are daily flights). I had a few concerns--primarily about my luggage, the added expense of a hotel stay, and the fact that I was not as familiar with Singapore as I am now--so I decided to stay at Changi for the next 48+ hours.
I soon found (or perhaps found again, as I cannot recall whether or not I had seen it on earlier visits) O'Learys Sportsbar & Grill. Having been at the above-mentioned bars and restaurants, I went to them for dinner. O'Learys, however, was open 24 hours a day (I believe) and offered breakfast. Like other such restaurants, they offered hearty meals. I appreciated especially the breakfast that offered a variety of things such as scrambled eggs, pancakes, various meats and coffee. As a child, I found that the only types of eggs that I could tolerate were scrambled eggs, hard-boiled eggs and, a little bit later, omelettes. Thus, this meal reminded me of home.
To this day, though, I have never had whiskey again.

As I introduced myself and this post above, I had a weak sense of smell. When I first visited Calcutta (as it was called then), the Dum Dum Airport (as it was called then) had a unique aroma that I could not quite define, other than to say that it was different.
Before I arrived in India to stay, I was given a 10-year tourist visa, which required me to leave India every 180 days, by the Consulate General of India in San Francisco. Shortly before the end of the 180 days, the Indian government implemented what became known as the "David Headley Rule" which required such visa holders to stay out for two months. I found a loophole that allowed me to return earlier.
The first time that I used this exception, I encountered virtual no obstacles. However, the problems and the hassles increased. On the third time, I was prevented from getting a boarding pass for about five hours. The only reason why I did not miss the plane was that I arrived at Changi Airport after checking out of the hotel, even though the flight was in the late evening. After this, I decided to give up and comply with the two-month provision.
180 days and 2 months later, I arrived back at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose (NSCB) International Airport (as it is now known) and was able to describe the air at the airport (especially in the gateways leading to Immigration) as being stale and musty. I knew that I was back home.
However, the Indian government has now replaced everything at the Airport with a new terminal--which I have not yet passed through, so I do not know if this aroma is still prevalent--and (very fortunately) it revoked the "David Headley Rule" not long after.

Again, I love to travel. I dislike the ascent of the aircraft and the seemingly endless taxiing upon arrival but, other than these, everything is enjoyable. Caroline often dreams of living in the South where bus travel is more practical and convenient. In the meantime, we take the train.
One time, Caroline said that we were going to Chennai. I was somewhat fearful of this as I had envisioned it as being an extremely long journey. From my previous train journeys, I believe that 36 hours on a train is the upper limit of tolerance of being on a train. To my great surprise, the journey was far shorter.
In Chennai, we visited a few places, including Marina Beach. There, we met a man who described the tsunami to us. We also saw a fish-stall (above) that had some fish covered in red sauce. I did not want it as I like neither fish nor anything spicy, but this fish was extremely delicious! I was even able to put my feet in the Bay of Bengal--not quite the Indian Ocean, but close! Even in Mumbai, I have never waded in the Arabian Sea. Most pertinently, in approaching Marina Beach, I could smell the salty air of the beach. It reminded me of Ocean Beach in San Francisco.

The more I travel, the more I appreciate home. For this, I need neither the sights nor the sounds; I need only the aroma. For me, this would be scrambled eggs on a stale, musty, salty beach.
Perhaps this is asking too much of Godrej aer to create. However, I would suggest that they do offer a fragrance of home. Perhaps it could be of new wood paneling, new furniture, the air just after the monsoon rains, or something similar.

It means blessed--or perhaps joyous--feast.

It also means--as do many of the other holy days mentioned in this blog--an inconvenience, annoyance or nuisance. In the United States, holidays as well as holy days such as St. Patrick's Day, Easter and Christmas are used often as excuses to party. In the United States, Christmas is also an excuse to shop. In the years B.A. (Before Amazon), this meant that millions upon millions of people would go to the shopping malls in the weeks leading up to Christmas. This, needless to say, was a great inconvenience.

Recently, I have come across the term Columbusing which basically means arrogating. The term is used in conjunction with Caucasians but I think that Indians (of whom less than 3% are Christians) have Columbused Christmas. Every year, a small city's worth of people shop in and around New Market each and every day in the weeks leading up to Christmas. At such times, you cannot walk (put one foot in front of the other) there, you can only shuffle (move your feet next to each other).

Ramzan/Ramadan may not be as bad. However, in the weeks leading up to Eid al-Fitr (the last day of the month), there are still enormous numbers of people shopping for food in the hours before iftar (the breaking of the fast, or roza) each day. Because these shops are on the footpaths and even on the streets themselves, it is extremely difficult and even hazardous to walk on the lanes and through the neighbourhoods.
Every morning, we buy buttered bread from a local shop and chai from a chaiwallah a little bit further down the street. This morning, I found out that both will be open tomorrow for Eid (29 July) but that the shop will not receive bread shipments for four days. This, needless to say, is an inconvenience and will force us to look for other options in a neighbourhood that does not provide many good options.

Eid highlights a contradiction--or perhaps it is a consistency--in India. In India, I never see women; I have concluded that it is because they have all been raped and killed. (Well, maybe that is a slight exaggeration.) The ones who survive, though, are usually seen shopping. Even then, though, they are not seen as they are usually wearing burqas. For iftar however, the shoppers are always men; perhaps the women are at home, cleaning utensils and plates and making other preparations for the meals.
Eid highlights a contradiction--or perhaps it is a misnomer--of roza. It is not a fast; it is simply eating at different times. At different times and at different places, people eat at different times. In the United States, the stereotypical time for dinner is at 7:00pm and for breakfast, 7:00am. Thus, Americans "fast" for about 12 hours each and every day of their lives. However, I hear nothing about this being a noble or religious activity.
I do not have intimate knowledge of roza and it is difficult to find information but it does seem to be from sunrise to sunset (about 12-13 hours). In other words, it is virtually the same amount of time that everybody "fasts" for; Muslims simply "fast" at different times during Ramzan.

Eid is undesirable for other reasons, as well. For those of you who think that Indian films and the song-and-dance routines within them are overly long, you know only half of the story. For better or for worse, the Internet Cafes I frequent are usually owned by Hindus. There, I often have to endure listening to Hindu devotional songs. In essence, such songs are similar to the first line of a common nursery rhyme--Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb--repeated over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. During Ramzan, I often have to endure hearing Muslim devotional songs. They do not seem to have the same nauseating repetitive nature but they are equally long. Here is a sample.

Yet, Eid is still intriguing and emphasizes and brings to mind many things unique to Islam. I wrote about a few of these in my The Man has Died series of articles in September 2013. In hindsight, the burial process for Islam is similar to that of Christianity. However, observing and experiencing it was somewhat peculiar and unsettling to me as Caroline was not allowed to go with me.
I have also written a couple of times about salami.This is, I believe unique to India (or, perhaps more accurately, South Asia) in which you purchase not the property but the lease to the property; you still have to pay a monthly rent to the land or property owner. I believe it is also unique to Muslims as I have yet to find any Hindus, Christians, Sikhs or others who offer property in this way.
I have also written about the phenomenon of blindness. It seems that every blind person in India is a blind man. It seems that every blind man in India is a Muslim blind man. It seems that every Muslim blind man in India sings for alms (although I have encountered a couple of such men who did not sing on their own but who did have a music player with a loudspeaker, so the end result was virtually the same). I have encountered this not only on the streets of Kolkata but also in trains. I have been on only a few flights within India and have not encountered them on planes...yet.
I have also encountered the phenomenon of legless Muslim men begging for alms (and am uncertain if I have described this previously). In these, the men are in a low-laying wooden cart, being pulled by someone else (most likely a family member).
I do not know why there are so many physically handicapped Muslim men. I hope that Slumdog Millionaire was not based on a grain of truth. If it is then that is one more strike against Eid.

Perhaps most noteworthy is neither Islamic customs nor Islamic people but Islam itself. The strength of religious beliefs among its adherents is remarkable. Stefan Molyneux in one of his innumerable videos and podcasts (I cannot find the link, but I have found a Wikipedia article and an online book that may add some credence) mentioned that almost everyone, at one point or another in their lives, convert from one religion to another. They may convert from Baptists to Lutherans; Methodists to Catholics; Pentecostal to Hindu; Eastern Orthodox to Judaism; Hinduism to Atheism (although that, technically, is the absence of religious belief, not a religious belief in itself); Christianity to Islam; Judaism to the made-up religion of Scientology; folk religions to Anglicanism; Presbyterianism to Buddhism; Atheism to Catholicism; Catholicism to Hinduism (as my sister-in-law was forced to do, with horrific consequences); Mormonism to Quakers; Roman religions to Christianity; and Lutherans to Baptists. In short, people usually convert from one of any and all religions to one of any and all other religions.
However, nobody converts from Islam to any other religion or non-religion. There is a Wikipedia article that provides a handful of such instances, but since there are 1.6 billion Muslims throughout the world this is statistically nothing. Of course, it can and should be emphasized that the common results of such a conversion is a judgement of death upon the person so there is a powerful incentive not to convert. However, it seems that Muslims are born, raised, live and die as Muslims with never a thought of changing. Muslim people view and use Islam as they view and use breathing, as being second nature.
In addition, it is astounding that each and every one of them practice pilgrimage (hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca at least once); testimony (shahadah, declaring that there is no god except God, and that Muhammad is God's messenger); prayer (salat, ritual prayer five times a day including at dawn; in Kolkata, I hear the imams--Muslim religious leaders--singing in the mosques at 4:30 in the morning); fasting (sawm--another word for roza--fasting and self-control during the month of Ramzan/Ramadan); and alms-giving (zakat, giving 2.5% of one's savings to the poor and needy; in Kolkata, I see poor, hard-working merchants giving one or two rupees to beggars--often Hindu women--every Friday). Caroline, herself, often admires the fact that Muslims never waver.
People may question whether or not Muslims are hypocrites. Caroline hears the "sermons" (I am certain that there is an Arabic word for what the imam says, although I do not know what it is; my best guess is that it is fard as-salat but please correct me if I am wrong) from the loudspeakers at the mosques/masjids and realizes that most Muslims do not follow that. However, the same could be applied to Catholics and every other religious denomination.
They may also point to the Muslims who were responsible for the events of 9/11 (although there is great evidence that this was, at least in part, an inside job especially as the United States government benefited enormously from this), 26/11 and the bombing in a Bali nightclub in 2002. These were certainly horrific and need to be condemned but the number of Muslim perpetrators was, again, statistically nothing. In the last dozen years, there were thousands of times more Christians in the United States who lined up to kill women, children, people in wedding parties, and other innocent civilians in lands that virtually no American would ever visit. In the last dozen years, the police in the United States have killed far more Americans than terrorists (other than the United States police) could ever hope to do.
Finally, a legitimate concern held by Caroline and others are that Muslims can be quite aggressive. However, everyone seems to agree that if you do not antagonize a Muslim then he will not harass you.
It is for all these observations and experiences that I wish everyone Eid Mubarak.

Today, 31 July 2014 is the 11th anniversary of my father's death. This year is also the 17th anniversary of my father-in-law's death; the 12th anniversary of my sister-in-law's death; the 7th(?) anniversary of my brother-in-law's (the husband to my sister-in-law) death; and the 3rd anniversary of my mother-in-law's death.

My father is third from the left. I suspect that this photo was taken in the late 1940s or early 1950s.

Of course, every year is the anniversary of something. This year is the 13th anniversary of 9/11 and the 6th anniversary of 26/11.

However, anniversaries divisible by 10--or sometimes by 5 (especially 5, 25 and 75)--are the ones that are memorable. In that regard, I ought to mention that one of my sisters is turning 50 in a few days; a good friend turned 40 a few months ago; one of my nephews is (or has) turning (turned) 20 years old; and this year is the 25th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake and of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
Regardless, this anniversary (and those of my in-laws) is important and in this post, I want to discuss the importance of family.

I think that most people are aware of the general and significant circumstances of expats and PTs. In this blog, I try to accurately describe the daily activity and observations of one expat (myself) in Kolkata, India. However, I hope that the ideas presented can be applicable to those in other parts of the world and/or, at least, found to be entertaining in reading. PTs have other challenges which I may attempt to delineate in a future post.
One thing that I have never read about in any expat blog is an article about relationships among expats and PTs. It is something that I, myself, never really thought about until recently. Some people say, "absence makes the heart grow fonder" while others say, "out of sight, ought of mind". For me, it has always been the former. After all, I met and married Caroline via a long distance relationship.
Moreover, at Wells Fargo, I built up a client list of about 150 people and enjoyed working with my colleagues. I also felt that if you are a friend of mine then you are a friend for life. However, after my departure from the United States, I almost instantly lost contact with my clients and found it difficult to correspond with my former colleagues. Moreover, my friends seemed to find it difficult to correspond with me.
Of course, everybody grows, evolves, progresses or at least changes. When people are together geographically, then it is easier to change together. When they are apart geographically, then it seems that they grow apart socially, as well..
The challenges that can impact relationships with clients, colleagues and friends can also impact families. In the United States, it is precisely the geographical separation of grown family members that can result in the almost-stereotypical jealousies and petty annoyances when they do get together at holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter. Yet, families always seem to be resilient.
Being an expat or PT can provide wonderful opportunities and freedom. However, it can also provide challenges and loneliness. It is nice to know that families usually stick together through thick and thin.
Happy anniversary to every familial relationship!

The Train

Back to the Future

Ashok Guest House

The International(?) City of Birganj

To Clean, the Impossible Dream

News: Other (Mar 2014)

Government as Criminals (Mar 2014)

Hotel Modern Lodge: Features and Service

Hotel Modern Lodge: The Prologue

News: Other (Apr 2014)

My Thirtieth Year Anniversary: Part 2

My Thirtieth Year Anniversary: Part 1

The Non-Rights and Non-Choices of Voters

The Ten Finalists of America's Got Talent

An Expat's Guide to Oman

Film Review of The Train (1970): Part 2

Film Review of The Train (1970): Part 1

There's No Place Like Home

Eid Mubarak(?)

An 11th Year Anniversary