Rajiv was so happy with the photo he took of this British visitor madly trying to pilot his machine through a street in Kolkata, that he said he would show it to all his family and friends. Thankfully, it was a quiet side-street (a main street would have been crazily irresponsible). Even so, stall-holders and chai-wallahs came out to grin at me and some even clapped.
I gave Rajiv 500 rupees for the privilege, and he looked very happy. "Do you know Michael Palin?" he asked me, as I gratefully drew to a halt. I had to admit that I didn't. "He is a most funny man!" he concluded. I agreed with him.
This was yet another example of the wonderful interractions with strangers that one can have in India - and especially Kolkata, where people love to talk. In the hot evenings, one sees ordinary men and women just sitting and talking for sometimes hours on end in streets, gardens, cafes and by the Hoogly river. This form of conversation is called adda in West Bengal.
Though I am undertaking a serious fundraising challenge with cycling from Land's End to John O'Groats, it is actually an honour for me to do it. I want to help develop Buddhist activities in the city that are substantial and premanent, and that is a team effort. Our Kolkata team is making good progress with that. Nagamitra, Nityasri, Maitridasa and Adityabodhi are great Dharma teachers. I will also be teaching the Dharma in Kolkata over the coming years (with a translator). The money we raise, will make all that possible.
Though that is of great value in itself, I'm pleased to say that I also love Kolkata and it's people. I have been there five times now and have visited India twelve times. I feel very at home in the streets of Kolkata. However, when it comes to cycling, I think I am better off doing that in Cambridge - and the rest of the UK.
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