Men v. Women

Just got back from a day in Kolkata. Annie and I saw our first 'Bollywood' movie, the Indian version of the big screen. Instead of a plot, this movie seemed to be all about...SONG AND DANCE! We bought our tickets at the fancy mall and after a detailed search of our bags we entered the theatre. The usher escorted us to the last seats in the last row and curiously asked us if we understood Hindi. We smiled and said no. He gave us the confused Indian head nod and left us alone to enjoy the movie. It was surprisingly entertaining given we didn't understand one word they were saying.
After the movie we returned home on the infamous train. We opted for the women's car hoping to escape the groping and torture of the men's compartment. Unfortunately what we found was a far worse experience. We were almost pushed out of the train before we could even get on. Once inside, women yelled, screamed and pushed almost to the point of being dangerous. I flattened out as much as possible against the wall, closed my eyes and prayed I would make it unscathed. I looked for Annie but only saw a tapestry of color draped on sardine packed women's car. Another volunteer eloquently described getting off the train as being 'birthed' and I think that is an accurate description. With tousled hair and bruised bodies we hobbled back to the flat. Before calling it a night we took some prescriptions for the homeless to the 'pharmacy' to be filled. What an experience! The pharmacist looked at our torn slips of paper without dates, details and even a MD's name and gave us a nicely wrapped package of pills. We will have to look up the medications and try and educate the people on how to use them properly. Just another Indian quirk I guess but who can complain...Rx antibiotics for less than 2 US dollars!