SEE the 5'10 white woman trying to fit in amid a Calcutta bazaar!
FEEL the sensory and emotional seasickness in the sea of humanity!
SMELL the curry and hundreds of spices!

You've arrived at the Official Web Site commemorating my journey to India.

Navigating the Site

Don't expect Kipling or Hemingway in my Dispatches section: just one woman's experiences, thoughts and tales. I've posted my musical soundtrack in the Music by iPod section, detailing the songs accompanying me. If you're like me, you'll also want to know a little more about India . . . its people, culture, geography and history. So check out the About India section for information I shamelessly gathered from other websites. And finally, if you want answers to the big question, "What the heck is she thinking?" then read the Why I'm Here and Who I'm With sections.

Itinerary

I arrived in Delhi to spend 3 days simply adjusting to the incredible change of scenery (not to mention the change in diet). Next came an eight-day sight-seeing train trip upon the "Palace on Wheels" through the Indian state of Rajasthan (including stops at the Taj Mahal and Ranthambore National Tiger Preserve). Take a deep breath and follow me to Kolkata (Calcutta) for time spent with incredible people serving the poorest of the poor in the slums, the brothels and the streets. Walk with the inhabitants and, somehow, expect to understand why a former slum is named "City of Joy." Finally, I flew from Calcutta to Geneva, to spend a week decompressing in the snow-covered mountains of Switzerland with wise and learned people of faith.

Visit early, visit often,

Denise Lechtenberger

Dispatches

May 2004 - End of Trip
My last Sunday at Kalighat we all participated in mass. Even though I'm not Catholic, the novice Sister Mary Radiance asked me to do the Old Testament reading and responsorial psalm. Not knowing what exactly that involved or what a "responsorial psalm" was, I agreed. Plus, she was a nun, and you just don't say "no" to a sister of the Missionaries of Charity. Turns out it was simply participating in the mass by reading to the audience. I walked up to the altar and looked outward . . . . Read more . . .

April 2004
While Protima spends her days on Sudder Street asking people for money and spends her nights sleeping at Sealdah train station, her real home is in "the village." Many people in the poorer, lower class come to Calcutta from the rural villages of West Bengal, Bihar or other states to find jobs and make money . . . in order to go back to village life. Few are successful; most, as far as I can tell, are lucky if they have enough money to travel back to their villages once every eight months. Some are even less fortunate: hard times can require taking on debt . . . . Read more . . .

March 18, 2004
Bengalis are known for their hospitality, I read somewhere. I arrived in Calcutta knowing no one; only through friends did I connect with the Word Made Flesh folks. I came also with two phone numbers in my pocket: for Dr. S.K. De and for Supriyo Mallick. On the Palace on Wheels, I met a delightful and very smiley doctor from Cleveland: he was born and raised in Calcutta. He told me to contact his good friend from his school days, Dr. De, and also his nephew Supriyo. "They will look out for you," he said. Read more . . .

March 14, 2004
Calcutta is image overload. Upon stepping onto the street I am immediately bombarded with images. Worn rickshaws in various states of disrepair (and the drivers themselves in various states of disrepair). Women in brightly colored saris. Bollywood movie posters. Chai tea stands with old tin pots and little single-use clay cups. Portraits of Hindu gods Kali, Krishna, Shiva or Ganesh, with garlands of bright yellow and orange marigolds strung over the portraits. Read more . . .

See a full list of my dispatches.