Reflections - Simon Acres

City of Ghosts

Kolkata is a city of life, death and everything in between. There is no one way to describe such a city, that changes before you get a chance to open your eyes in the morning. It is a city of contrasts, of fairytale riches for a blessed few, and nightmarish poverty for the rest. It is a city of contradictions, where families live in slums, under billboards for new expensive housing developments. But to this young tourist, it is most signifigantly a City of Ghosts. The thing that gives the city it's unique atmosphere of dead triumph, the sense of victory that it remains standing from day to day, is it's People.
Walking down the street in Kolkata can be a heart-wrenching experience for a westerner. You Wouldn't think that a city such as Kolkata, former capital city and hub of British influence in India, with it's stunning culture, infrastructure and history would be home to millions of homeless people. Yet, everywhere you look, survival can be seen struggling. Small hunched beggars, filthy and pathetic line the streets in some places like paving stones, Wearing nothing but rags. These people may have nothing but the clothes they wear, yet instead of giving up on life, they simply continue. Indians are immensely proud people,living with whatever they have and possessing great ambition. In a city of millions, every person, rich, poor, young, old has a story to tell. a success story. The story of their life. Driving down the street, you could literally see thousands of people, thousands of
stories of life and death, of pain and loss, of happiness and gain. But sadly, each face is a flash in the pan. As soon as you see them, they are gone, dissapeared in the sea of humanity. Each face is a ghost, destined to float in the sea of millions until their story ends. I saw countless people during the two weeks i stayed in the city. But during this brief time i learned an infinite amount about myself, life, death and dignity.
Simon.