Today was a festival day in Kolkata: Vishwakarma Jayanti. Vishwakarma is the divine architect/engineer, so he is the god of engineers and factory workers. While it is common to see vehicles decked out with floral garlands, this was the first time I saw the large leaves lashed to the corners. In addition to cars and taxis, many buses and trucks were also decorated.
The Kolkata metropolitan area has a population of over 15 million, yet the yellow pages are barely thicker than my iPad:
Indian can (and do) sleep just about anywhere. It's not uncommon to see someone sleeping on the sidewalk or the street. Here the rickshaw driver is sleeping in his rickshaw:
And finally, India is education-obsessed and exam-obsessed. Pictures of students and their test scores are in newspapers and on billboards everywhere. (This is not unique to Kolkata by any means.) How would you like your SAT scores posted for all to see?
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| Of course, this is also an ad for the school and/or exam prep academy. The top 50,000 or so students will get admission to a first-tier university -- less than 1% of students who complete secondary education. |
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