It was a last minute invitation but I accepted anyway because I had been delaying visits to India for so long.Orang suka takut2kan...air kotor, berak tepi jalan, byk beggarslah.When I got sick a couple of days before my flight, I thought of calling it off.But the urge to go was also strong.
When I got in Kolkata, I knew why.Byk benda we can do to help org miskin kat sini.Muslims make 30% of West Bengal's total population.Chief Minister dia seorang wanita Brahmin yang berwawasan and kind to Muslims..dia kasi tanah suruh buat uni dan kompleks tabung haji.We saw wht great progress she brings to the state.Kolkata ni besar.To get from one end to the other ambik masa 4-5 jam.The new town modern gila..dia ada silicon valley dia sendiri..kedai buku dia semua ada..eco park dia beratus acre.Cara CM dia memerintah mcm Tun M memerintah.An amazing woman.
Kolkata tengah winter.Mlm2 I sejuk walaupun selimut very thick.I brought Devi teman peneman (but got her to present as well). I told her pls tutup aircon cos' I was shivering even under the blanket.She said aircon tak pasang pun. Haha.Rupanya I demam.Jangkit dari Nik la ni agaknya.
My keynote went well.Pada saya ntg compared to speakers yg mmg handal2 tu (ada yg worked for bbc) but I'm glad some found it inspiring. On my bday (siang), students and staff of Aliah Uni bought me and Prof Amzed a bday cake.Wht was more surprising was finding out Amzed pun sama bday dgn saya! Kami baru jumpa but I hv high regard for him sbb dia sgt zuhud.When I bought two packs of grapes nak bwk ke luncheon at rumah dia...dia ckp tak pyh beli byk sebab mahal.Runtun hati saya.Kita take things for granted benda2 gini.Kekadang berbuang sebab busuk..simpan lupa nak mkn.But I masukkan balik wht he put away.And masa saya nak balik, dia suruh bwk balik.I said no...takleh masuk plane.
Malam my bday tu I celebrated it with Prof Tapati..mak my good friend who now lives in Spore.I had met her mom 5 years ago in Spore.It was a happy reunion.Dia masak sedap.We had ice cream with the cake I had ordered and delivered earlier.Senang kat sini..order je kek ke bunga ke..dia ada an
efficient delivery service.
Kolkata atau nama lamanya Calcutta ni ibukota India yang pertama sebelum Delhi (yg digunakan sebagai kota empire Mughal yg datang dari Persia asalnya dan bertapak di Afghanistan sebelum menawan India untuk sekian lamanya.Prof Tapati pakar sejarah India..dia yang beritau).British yg memerintah India dari sini. Kolkata dlm negeri West Bengal.Org Bengali datang dari sini (cantik2 orangnya..mcm Italian/Greek). Dulu Bangladesh sebahagian dari Kolkata dan cuma 45mins flight dari Dhaka.
