India - Kolkata - Part III

I didn't know what this guy was doing but I had an idea. You see many men with eyeliner around here, what I didn't realize was how that look was achieved. Count me out.

It's a long pointed stick which is dipped in, I think, charcoal then run across bother the upper and lower lid while in contact with the eye. Afterwards the person would stand, cry a little and try to overcome the pain. Hindu's don't do this, just the Muslims, and I would have given it a try but for the fact that the stick is never cleaned.

In India you will be constantly asked to take a photo of someone. They like it I guess. The old man said I should take a shot of his friend who playfully refused as the older guy tried to wrestle him into frame... the looks are priceless and represent some of the better aspects of this place.

The flower market. Well int this case it's the herb part.

This is where some of the flowers are sold. They are put on garlands and hung from the statues of gods. Guests also receive them for guests are gods here. Sometimes you wonder though as so many people try to rip you off, and yet sometimes you are treated just as such.

This is the moment where we were treated like gods. Standing on the bridge where the two previous photos were taken a young man looked up at us and gestured to come down, we did. He was 16 years old, was married with a child and invited us into his home. They bought us beer and food, we tried to pay but he said, "I'm poor man but you are my guests." We sat for a while with him and his family, Jacqueline had her hand adorned with henna, and then was dressed in a sari, we posed with the kids, and I got a family portrait of them. We didn't know how to repay such kindness so we printed and framed the family portrait, printed a few other photos and dropped them off the next day. Only one of the brothers was there, and he didn't speak English, so I don't know if they liked it or not but I hope so.

One brother, two sisters, this is the main room and the ceiling is just high enough to sit under. It's also one of my favorite shots I've taken my entire trip. That's the young man on the left. On the right is one of the sisters with another behind. The girl on the right is a fighter, I mean that literally, and she never smiled.

When we left we the home above we went to the river to watch the ritualistic bathing. The kids came up to have the photo taken... I don't know if this guy was happy, sad, angry or something else altogether. But if you look at the photo closeup you can see me reflected in his eyes... also, notice the same eyeliner as at the beginning of the post.

The Hooghly river near sunset.

This guy had the job of shoveling the shit, literally shit, back into the river, over 60 years old and as strong as an ox.

Bathing in filth, leaving cleansed.

Back to the Puja, this was a ceremony outside of one of the Pujas.

More of the Pujas.

The Durga Puja is the most popular festival in Kolkata and the crowds prove it... this is only the line to see one of them.

The line to see another... to put it perspective, we walked half a kilometer one way, crossed the street, walked the same distance back and then took a few more up and downs in order to arrive that the gates.

All to see this. And I don't mean that contritely.

All the Pandals share the same theme which is the destruction of the demon pictured below. The end of the festival is when the sculpture is lowered into the Hooghly and submerged.