So, since my arrival in Kolkata I’ve had this irritating nuisance. Often times leading to light harassment by the team in the office, or utter embarrassment when I discover the children of the slum schools are uninterruptedly starring at my dirt stained feet. I scrub and rub and wash Daily, but nothing has cleaned me from the dirt smudges that coat the soles of my feet. But what I’m coming to discover is that I don’t want it to be washed away. It is the India with me, the India that never leaves me. It is the India that leads me.
I have never gone hungry, yet you feed me.
Your stomach pants for nourishment, yet you give. Though it is simple, you are unashamed.
Though there is little, you take care to be excellent. Hours of preparation, of meticulous grinding and measuring of spices for the enjoyment of others. Whether I am a well planned out visitor or a last minute guest, you welcome me as one expected and you bathe me in care and attention.
I miss you now; now that I am gone and I look forward to greeting you someday soon as my old friend.
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