As you leave Kolkata (Calcutta) airport you immediately experience what many visitors to Asia have described as ‘an assault on the senses’. And in terms of what you see, you won’t know whether to stare boggle-eyed at the ubiquitous yellow Ambassador taxis, jostling for space on the race track (also known as the main road) or the huge hoardings advertising everything from clothes to gadgets. And I do mean huge – bigger than anything you’ll ever see in the UK.
And tucked in amongst them is an old sign that has been there for many years – Welcome to the City of Joy”.
I am not sure now which came first, that nickname or the book, City of Joy by Dominique Lapierre. If you haven’t read the book, do so immediately. It is one of the most moving accounts of human resilience and triumph in the face of adversity I have ever read. If you haven’t seen the movie (starring Patrick Swayze), you are blessed indeed. Avoid it as a piece of Hollywood schmaltz that completely fails to capture anything of the emotion of the book.
But back to the city, where I’m sitting today. Why is it that, in a city that has some of the poorest living conditions in the world, people can speak of a City of Joy? The answer is found in its people, but describing the people of this beautiful city is beyond me. Look at both ends of the spectrum.
Let me start with the poor. Given the chance some will fleece you, and that’s what you would expect. But this is usually accomplished with such artistry, that you would rather applaud their ingenuity than condemn their bravado. Take the airport arrival. A couple of years ago I landed with a friend who, while I was throwing luggage into the van, was offered a cup of tea from a tray-bearing youngster. Such hospitality my friend thought! I rolled my eyes upwards, as I hadn’t changed any money yet, and I knew I’d have to haggle over the extortionate cost of the cuppa! It should be 5p but they’d start at 20p! Upon such things the world turns.
Notice I said ‘some will fleece you’. But the vast majority would not. They are consummately kind and amazingly hard-working. They would take a lost person by the hand and irrespective of the time it took, they would get you to your destination. They will be up and working long before I wake, collecting coke-cans, or paper and by evening the cans have become a single sheet of aluminium sold on for the price of the next day’s rice, and the paper will be bundled and sold by the kilo to a middle man who will help it on its way to the paper mill it came from. Don't come preaching sustainability here – not until you recognise that cities like Kolkata are the recycling capitals of the world.
And then there are the self-described middle-classes, and inevitably these are the people I know best. Kolkattans are sophisticated, highly intelligent, well read, truly cultured and engaging conversationalists. And as far as I can see, if there is a passion that unites them (apart from cricket and children and all things Indian) it is eating out. This they love to do – any night of the week you’ll find restaurants and cafes heaving with people engaged in animated conversation.
And what is God doing in this poverty-stricken / well-heeled City of Joy? Well, this needs another book, but let me give you a taster. There are many churches, some denominational, some relatively independent. They worship in different languages and styles but many are thriving. Along the way there is a multiplicity of Christian parachurch ministries – led by women and men of great faith and passion. Most are openly evangelistic. Many focus on society’s toughest problems – drugs, HIV, homelessness, alcoholism and so on. I don’t know another city which has such a rich tapestry of Christian ministries. Some are innovative such as Freeset, a business offering an alternative to prostitution in one of Kolkata’s red light districts. Others are more traditionally evangelistic and very effective.
In the midst of it all, BMS has been present here for over 200 years and enjoy a very good reputation. Our work here these days is not so much to run projects ourselves, but to provide support to other ministries. Most of these resources are our people, individuals, couples, families and teams who come here either to share in the task or to learn from our Indian sisters and brothers.
If you’d like to see God at work in power, then consider coming to Kolkata. It will change your life and bring Joy to your heart.
David Kerrigan
Comments