About Bronwen Mander

It has been a fantastic month. Here in this hot and humid Kolkata climate, afternoon naps are common, and really necessary. But I’ve not had much time for them. Here is a very long-winded story that you may or may not have the time to read.
Over the last month or so, I have spent much more time with new Indian friends and I feel positively enriched by the experience. They have all been so warm and welcoming it is hard to explain how moved I feel by it. This is a transformation from the seemingly rude behaviour of the locals [...]

It’s horribly hot and sticky here – 37C (104F) & 93% humidity. We’re into 3 times a day showers now, although luckily it rained a couple of nights ago and it’s been a little more tolerable since then.
Whilst I often find myself wishing I could stay longer (I’m not sure I’ll be ready to leave Kolkata in just four weeks time), the unfortunate thing is that I am starting to feel seriously bored. I am particularly fond of the school – the teachers and Mosoumi and all that they are doing and achieving – and of course I adore the [...]

I guess I have settled into a “normality” after six weeks in Kolkata, even though I still walk down the street looking at everything with astonishment. The two things that I continue to find most difficult are the hygiene and the staring. The language barrier can be a bit tiring too, and I wish that I had pursued my intention of learning either Hindi or Bengali from the very beginning. However, I have adapted to using non-verbal communication quite well (I think I’ve got the silent gestures and Indian head nods down pat, now).
When I arrived here at the beginning [...]

The weather has suddenly turned hot and damp here in Kolkata – 34-38° C (77° F). And it’s only March! I have bought myself a dual layered umbrella to protect me from the sun. I’ve found it is also effective at protecting me from the staring eyes of the locals, which is a constant here, and meteoric bird poop, another regular feature of the Kolkata streets. The umbrella might even be useful fending off hawkers at New Market. Therefore, I’ve decided to carry it with me all the time.
International Women’s Day was on 8 March this year. It is a [...]

I have really wanted to experience the most of India, in every way. I have become more daring by eating street food, provided I see it being cooked and I eat it fresh. So far so good. I talk to the teachers at the school about their families and the restrictions placed on them in the Hindu tradition. For instance, these women must live with their parents-in-law after they are married. I also visited an exhibition yesterday of posters from women’s rights campaigns over the last few decades, at the Seaford Gallery in SP Mukherjee Rd, which was extremely beautiful [...]

Kolkata is a challenge, and sometimes I feel I have a love-hate relationship with it.
Each time I step out of my accommodation, I am confronted with the noise, filth and poverty. On the ground throughout the streets, people live, including families with cute but dirty children with oily knotted hair. At night, people sleep on the footpath covered head to toe with a blanket that looks like an old sack. A few luckier ones have erected a little lean-to made of anything they can find, covered in black plastic to keep the rain out.
The school where three of us are [...]