A visit to Niladri's house and school

After we got off the metro in Niladri's neighborhood, we stopped with him to get some food to feed the poster making crew.  I was fascinated by this man who was frying a lentil based paste into fancy circles to create a sweet treat.  My stomach is still adjusting to the amount of oil used in food here, so I didn't try one, but it was amazing.

A typical snack shop.  This is where Niladri bought us some fabulous potato based lunch.

A cat on a sofa in a downstairs room of Niladri's house.  I think that there are some shared areas of the house and then people/families have their own rooms.  It was a large house (maybe 3 or 4 rooms on each floor).

Another cat.... and my toes.

The poster making crew in Niladri's room.  We were getting things ready for the Pride parade that will take place in Kolkata on Sunday.

The other side of the room and their stunning artwork.

Caitlin and I were helping make the ribbon pins.

The finished products of our labor.

Through the gratework in the hallway of Niladri's house.  These grates cover many of the open air windows and balconies on homes around the city.  I love the look.  Also, this allows some ventilation for clothes to dry, but I am quickly learning that nothing dries easily in this humidity.

A view of the rooftop deck on the house beside Niladri's house.  The plants were gorgeous. 

The house across the street.

We have mostly been eating Indian food from restaurants around the hotel, but when we went to the mall yesterday to watch a movie, we were excited to eat at Subway.  We all decided that the veggie shammi and aloo subs need to make their way to America.  Best Subway experience. 

This is the left side of my primary classroom - VI A.  This is my mentor teacher's class for both Language and Literature and her homeroom.  They are very dear.  They have all been making me drawings, bringing me gifts and singing me songs.  Too cute!

The right side of the room.

One half of the library.  It is an L shape and the other side is about the same width.  They have about 3,000 books in the library.  The woman at the computer is in charge of the publications for the school (the magazine and newspaper).  This is the only computer that I have seen so far, but I haven't been to the building with the uppermost grades yet, and I imagine that there might be one or two more there.