Linda's meeting with her father's friend in Kolkata appeared in the USIEF bulletin:
http://www.usief.org.in/USPSummerSeminar/newsletter/August10/CROSSING_THE_SEAS.htm
Enjoy!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
July 23-27 Kolkata (Calcutta)
Friday, July 23rd was a full day. We flew from Chennai to Kolkata, arriving at our hotel at 2 p.m. After a quick lunch, we took our bus to the American consulate, which also houses USIEF, the organization that manages Fulbright programs in India. After a formal greeting by the the Chief Consul, we had a PowerPoint orientation to Kolkata.
Next we traveled to the home of a family friend of Shoheni, one of our USIEF guides for Kolkata and Varanasi. Shoheni taught high school science prior to her job with USIEF, and one of her former students lives with several generations of relatives. They call themselves a conjoined family. We arrived at the home, actually a 3-story apartment building with a rooftop terrace. At each landing, one of the women of the family greeted us. We filed into a small living room and met Purbita, a daughter-in-law. The head of the family is the surviving eighty-year-old of two brothers who married two sisters. The family includes four sons and wives, and several of their children and spouses--twenty-two family members altogether! The relatives of working age all have professional jobs and juggle household chores and cooking responsibilities in addition to their careers. After tea, we were escorted to the rooftop, where we were served a traditional Bengali vegetarian dinner while one couple sang Indian songs accompanied by the harmonium.
On the way into the house, the most amazing thing happened. One of the four sons greeted us and by way of conversation mentioned that he’d gone to law school in Lansing, Michigan in the mid-1980s. One member of our group said, “Oh, we have a teacher in our group from Lansing.” We passed the word to Linda, and she introduced herself, asking ”Did you meet any Indians when you were in Lansing?” He said, "Yes, I knew Harold Mondol. He was like a mentor to me.” Linda screamed¸ “He’s my father!” Mr. Chakrabarti said, “Are you Linda?” When she said yes, he replied,” You were at my graduation!” Linda “skyped” her dad the next day. He had tears in his eyes when he heard that Linda had visited the home of his old friend. It truly is a small, small world!
Saturday the group visited a Muslim school and took a tour of the city. I spent the day in the hotel room with an attack of “dehli belly” that I attributed to drinking “filtered” tap water in Chennai. Fortunately for our schedule, I also was able to spend Sunday resting and recovering. I think I’ve already mentioned that the pace of this trip has been a challenge even for the most hale and hearty among us!
Our Kolkata visit also included more school visits and a demonstration of west Bngali Patua scroll painting. Since I was sick on Saturday, I missed the visit to the Missionaries of Charity, so I used my free time before we left for Varanasi to visit there. I was greeted by two Sisters who escorted me to Mother Teresa’s tomb. Seven novices were sweetly singing the liturgy for Holy Communion. The room where Mother Teresa died at 9:30 p.m. on September 5, 1997 is preserved as it was that night--just a plain simple room with a cot and a dresser, and a picture of Jesus on the wall, along with a crown made of thornes from a Nevada desert. A young man standing by the door quietly wiped tears from his eyes. I too stayed at the door of her modest room thinking about the impact this one simple woman had upon the entire world.
Next we traveled to the home of a family friend of Shoheni, one of our USIEF guides for Kolkata and Varanasi. Shoheni taught high school science prior to her job with USIEF, and one of her former students lives with several generations of relatives. They call themselves a conjoined family. We arrived at the home, actually a 3-story apartment building with a rooftop terrace. At each landing, one of the women of the family greeted us. We filed into a small living room and met Purbita, a daughter-in-law. The head of the family is the surviving eighty-year-old of two brothers who married two sisters. The family includes four sons and wives, and several of their children and spouses--twenty-two family members altogether! The relatives of working age all have professional jobs and juggle household chores and cooking responsibilities in addition to their careers. After tea, we were escorted to the rooftop, where we were served a traditional Bengali vegetarian dinner while one couple sang Indian songs accompanied by the harmonium.
On the way into the house, the most amazing thing happened. One of the four sons greeted us and by way of conversation mentioned that he’d gone to law school in Lansing, Michigan in the mid-1980s. One member of our group said, “Oh, we have a teacher in our group from Lansing.” We passed the word to Linda, and she introduced herself, asking ”Did you meet any Indians when you were in Lansing?” He said, "Yes, I knew Harold Mondol. He was like a mentor to me.” Linda screamed¸ “He’s my father!” Mr. Chakrabarti said, “Are you Linda?” When she said yes, he replied,” You were at my graduation!” Linda “skyped” her dad the next day. He had tears in his eyes when he heard that Linda had visited the home of his old friend. It truly is a small, small world!
Saturday the group visited a Muslim school and took a tour of the city. I spent the day in the hotel room with an attack of “dehli belly” that I attributed to drinking “filtered” tap water in Chennai. Fortunately for our schedule, I also was able to spend Sunday resting and recovering. I think I’ve already mentioned that the pace of this trip has been a challenge even for the most hale and hearty among us!
Our Kolkata visit also included more school visits and a demonstration of west Bngali Patua scroll painting. Since I was sick on Saturday, I missed the visit to the Missionaries of Charity, so I used my free time before we left for Varanasi to visit there. I was greeted by two Sisters who escorted me to Mother Teresa’s tomb. Seven novices were sweetly singing the liturgy for Holy Communion. The room where Mother Teresa died at 9:30 p.m. on September 5, 1997 is preserved as it was that night--just a plain simple room with a cot and a dresser, and a picture of Jesus on the wall, along with a crown made of thornes from a Nevada desert. A young man standing by the door quietly wiped tears from his eyes. I too stayed at the door of her modest room thinking about the impact this one simple woman had upon the entire world.
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