Five Things You Should Know If You Come To Kolkata

1.     It’s all about the bargaining.

I’m not a natural at bargaining. I much prefer to have a fixed price on anything and everything I buy, so I don’t have to think about it. Unfortunately for me, that’s not how it works in Kolkata. If you want to live on a budget but still eat mangos everyday, you’ve gotta be prepared to bargain. This goes, not only for mangos, but for virtually any street shop, unless they have signs that say “FIXED PRICE.”

How does one bargain, you ask? Well, I’m no expert, but I do know a few general rules. First, slash the original price in half. Second, argue with the shopkeeper in about 10 rupee increments. This works best for fruit, but it can also work well for nighttime taxis. Third, if you don’t like the price that the shopkeeper seems firm on, legitimately start to walk away. About half the time, the shopkeeper will acquiesce, though there have been plenty of times when I’ve been forced to find another shop. The last piece of advice I would have about bargaining is to use it wisely. Street merchants are usually poor chaps who are trying to make a living, so sometimes it’s okay to pay a little higher price for something, simply because 50 rupees to him is a lot more valuable than it is to you (it’s less than US $1).    

Bargain heaven

2.     The word “pork” should only be said with a whisper.

Kolkata has a lot of Muslims and Hindus. Muslims, as you may know, don’t eat pork. Hindus don’t eat beef. I can eat both. This has made for some funny situations for myself as a non-discriminatory meat-eating person.

Twice now, I’ve been in a restaurant where the manager has whispered to me that they are serving a pork dish. He does not dare say it above a whisper, treating the information like we’re CIA operatives. One of my friends here went out looking for a restaurant rumored to serve beef. When he got there and inquired, the manager silently pointed to a part of the menu written in an obscure language. The beef dish was clearly being hidden. Still, I remain impressed that it actually existed.

Beef beefin' up

3.     Fennel and anise equal after-meal mints

After a meal, every patron is served fennel and anise. 

Fennel is the green stuff and anise is the white. The anise is what licorice is made of, so it’s delightful. The fennel is, well, not as good. If you choose to partake in this traditional practice, be aware that the same dish is sometimes served to every patron, so, depending on the quality of the restaurant, you might just want to hold off.

4.     It’s sometimes okay to drive the wrong direction on the highway (provided there are no cops around).

One-way streets can be debatable here. If there are no patrolmen around (and there usually aren’t), cars take liberties that would be appalling in the US. Fortunately, Indians are generally super-astute drivers, so I didn’t feel like I was going to die, despite the oncoming trucks. All the driver of the car had to do to ensure a “safe” experience was lay on the horn. Oh yeah.

Driving on the wrong side of the road? No probs. We got Jesus. (... :) that was sarcasm)

5.     They recycle glass.

This is a normal sight. Usually, these walls line schools, nice hotels, Seva Kendra, or, in this particular situation, a convent. I think the point is to deter scoundrels from climbing over the wall and disturbing the peace, but it could also be for the obnoxious crows that seem to control the skis of Kolkata.  

This is normal.

Pax,
Heide