A woman jumped out of the 9th floor of an office tower in Kolkata.   It was the same day I arrived last week, in the same building as our office, just 2 floors below.    As I arrived at the office a television news crew was packing up.   I would not have known about it if not for the proximity.   This paragraph in particular from the next days' Times of India reminded me of the need for cultural awareness in a job like mine.

   "The incident brings to lithe killer pressure of working and struggling to retain one's job in the 24X7 sector.  Unlike other countries, India still lacks a safety net for employees sacked from the industry that has triggered the current economic boon."

My group has not had any layoffs and I do not see any happening in the near future.   And this is not just an Indian issue, losing a job is hard anywhere.  But in the US you have Unemployment Benefits and other help that can at least soften the impact.  I wonder if Jayita Ghosh lost her job because she worked for some big US company that didn't consider the impact of hiring and then laying off staff in a country that has a hard time dealing with unemployment. 

On the plane ride back to Chennai I considered what I would do if I had met her in that coridor as she prepared to jump.  Of course I would hire her on the spot if it meant keeping her alive.   The challenge here is that you could spend all your time and fortune helping people in difficult circumstances.

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Airport may be the most decayed airport in India.  The fleet of ancient Hindustan Ambassador taxis in Kolkata may be the most desperate vehicles on earth.  And the  Rajuhar road may have more potholes than any other road still called "New", but I was sure glad to be back in Kolkata last week.

Morning fog and football stadium in Kolkata

I had some problems with my flight up, but as they were entirely caused by my own ineptness I will not go into the details.  The perogative joy of owning this blog.

Departure Gate at Hyderabad Airport, since this post is about Kolkata I will have to tell that story later.

I arrived a few hours late at the office.   Since I was last there a year ago the size of the team there has grown substantially.   Most of the people in Kolkata are people that I was not involved in hiring, and I have not had a chance to work with most of them.  They are all talented and energetic and I will now how some opportunities to work with them in the near future.

It was a quick visit, just enough time for a one-on-one meeting with each of the people there, a team meeting and a thank you lunch at a great place called "Plates of Fame".   I had misunderstood and thought the name was "Plates of Flame", either name is appropriate.  It was excellent Thai food.   The lunch started off with a bowl of soup that gave many a cough, runny nose and watery eyes.  I was happy to not be the only person suffering with food that was too spicy.   After that they started bringout samples of various Thai food.   They would bring a slightly larger plate and more food.   Finally they brought a large white plate.   I said to Arnab "Wow, desert will be the largest portion".  He pointed out that this plate was for the main course.   Sometimes you just have to summon all your inner willpower and keep eating. 
 


I also partially fullfilled a promise to Arnab.   Back in 2004 when I first found out I was going to India I spent countless evenings with Arnab exploring all sorts of possible travel destinations and learning essential wisdom about travel in India.   All he asked was that I buy him dinner at a good restaurant on Park Street in Kolkata if we were ever there at the same time.   As Arnab is on vacation in India this month, I was able to finally pay up.   We had an excellent meal at a great place called Peter Cat  (I had the cello kebab, best kebab I have ever had).   My 24 hour a day work schedule interupted our late night discussion, so we plotted a second dinner next year when he is back in town.

After 3 years of planning, we finally made it to Park Street.

While it was good to return home to Chennai, I am already planning my next trip to Kolkata...January 10.

Sarah came home from school on Thursday and told about how the driver had to stop the car and carry a small puppy off the road so that it wouldn't get run over.   You could hear the worry dripping from every word.

I told her that if she could find the puppy she could adopt it and nurse it back to health.

Yes, you read that right, I suggested she hunt down a skinny puppy and bring it home.

When I heard the story I thought it had happened some distance away.    In fact, Sarah and Abby returned with said puppy in a few minutes. 

Sarah did a really good job of feeding and caring for this little dog.   It was so malnourished and sick that it could hardly move.     After a while it was cautiously exploring the yard.

Over the weekend Sarah moved the dog to the roof terrace.  On Monday she went up to check on it before school.   As she was holding the dog in her arms she noticed a squad of ticks jumping off the dog onto her arm.   That marked the end of this happy, warm fuzzy story of animal love and rescue.

After Mom confirmed that she hadn't been bitten, Sarah wrapped the dog in an old towel and ran down the street, Abby running after.    They set the dog down in an empty lot and ran home fast.  

Sarah sobbed all the way to school.   I didn't ask if it was the sadness of losing the dog or of the close encounter with the ticks.

A friend of Amy's brought over the DVD on a Sunday afternoon, back in May, maybe April.  I don't recall the title, it could have been "The Secret" or "The Power".  It claimed that there was a secret energy in the universe that you tap into by vocalizing your desires.  The film claimed that all great people knew of this, Da Vinci, Newton, Churchill etc.  Gain this ability and you could achieve anything, just like Churchill.

I thought it a bunch of rubbish and left in the middle to surf the web.  As that day was Sunday I repeated a frequent wish: "I wish NPR (National Public Radio in the US) would publish a podcast of the Selected Shorts program.".  Perhaps inspired by "The Secret" I added "And have the first program contain a reading by Alec Baldwin. 

Selected Shorts is an weekly program where actors read short stories.  Years ago when I lived in Utah it was broadcast on Sunday mornings. Sometimes I would pinch baby Ian during church, making him cry so I had an excuse to go sit in the car and listen.  When I moved to Arizona 10 years ago the NPR station didn't carry the program.

In October I checked the NPR podcast list and noticed they had added Selected Shorts. The first episode I downloaded was a reading by Alec Baldwin.

That podcast and a handful of others are my link to my previous ease of life in suburban America. I imagine that every expat has something that they keep close to remind them of where they came from, or remind them that someday they will go back.  A family we know eats American food almost every meal.  Others keep a jeans and T-shirt attire, shunning the local salwars and sarees.

I am pecking out this post out on my Blackberry as I fly to Kolkata. My iPod is playing this weeks Selected Shorts, "The Initiation" By Joseph Conrad.  Sanity intact.

Shawn

UPDATE: Thanks to Gabe for pointing out that the name is "The Secret"

There is an old Zen story:  A man is chased through the jungle by a tiger.   He climbs over the edge of a cliff and hangs on to a vine, just out of reach of the tiger.   He looks down and sees another tiger below him.   Two rats start to eat away the vine he is hanging from.   He looks around and sees a ripe strawberry growing just within reach.   He eats the strawberry. . .how sweet it tastes.

I am home from work today, Amy is more sick than I have ever seen her.   She has a bad case of stomach flu.  Max has the same and Sarah has a fever.   Joshua got a sprained ankle at school last week and has a hard time getting around.

The rains are back and I noticed this morning that dozens of purple flowers have bloomed in the empty lot next to us.  A sweet garden, right outside our window.

Found an interesting video on YouTube.

Crossing the roads is like that.   I have done it a number of times holding Max or Abby or a bunch of bags.  Not fun, but no other way to get across.