Today we visited Kalighat - literally translated as Kali's bath
Kali is the goddess of Kolkata and is taken very seriously by the local population
The queues for the faithful to go in and have their sacrifices performed were around the block and down the road - as Westerners and visitors we are able to visit without waiting in the queue because we don't get to go in to the temple proper
so we were given a tour around the outer courts of the temple past the sacrifice pit (still with fresh goats blood on the ground) and the baths where people bath in the sacred waters
Most of us were left pretty stunned by what we saw
Down the road is one of the Gangees - where people bathe surrounded by rubbish and human filth (I can't think of a euphemism)
Immediately next door is Mother Theresa's house for the Destitute and Dying (like thru the wall) - it was originally a part of the of the temple but has since been annexed - you see the story of this in the movie about her life
It's the place people who have nowhere to go and die come to spend their last days to be treated with at least a little dignity. AS I write this tears are welling up (again)
both places are very similar and very different in ways I can't write about here
Suffice to say it was one heck of a morning. We're trying to volunteer to help at the latter but it's proving difficult thanks to some unconscionable foreigners creating problems in the past
So it looks like I might be back at (F) tomorrow and (I) too
Will let you know
Just 2 days to go now and I miss K pretty bad - can't wait to be home with her again
See you all soon
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