A Visitor from Portland

Another thrilling interview by Momo

Two weeks ago, when I visited Mustard Seeds I found new face in the library. It was Maura Aunty's friend, Shara Alexander, who was visiting India with her daughter for two weeks to explore Kolkata a bit. Since we have our blog going, and always need some new material I decided to grab a notebook and a pen, and get down to the business of interviewing our friend!

Shara comes from Portland, Oregon (northwest USA) and says that she likes India. This is, in fact, her second visit to Kolkata. In her previous visit she went to Darjeeling; and she visited Santiniketan during her stay this time.

When I asked her what she thinks of Mustard Seeds Library, she said that she likes the wide variety of books here, and she especially likes the relationship between all of the members.

I was wondering how Shara came to know Maura Aunty. Well, the answer to that is that Maura Aunty and Shara met in Japan twenty years ago, in 1988, in a Japanese-American exchange program in University. That's a good long friendship!

When asked about the PEOPLE of India, Shara replied, "they are humorous, intellectual, curious, innovative, and broad-minded." I also asked her about the population of India – and she said, "thank God she's going home!" What I think she means by this is that she is used to a less-populated place, so may get a bit claustrophobic staying on here. She also had some comments on the dirt and pollution here, when I brought it up, "Despite the fact thats India has a very rich culture, it has not developed from this angle of environment preservation and protection."

I asked her about Indian cuisine too. She said that she has taken up an addiction to the Bengali sweets, especially since the misti-wallah knocks on your door to sell them. One day he knocked just after she had finished a typical Bengali meal. That was synchronicity! She said Indian cuisine is one of the best in the world! In fact, she is planning to make a few dishes for friends back home upon her return.

I was also curious about where Shara came from so I asked a few questions about Portland as well. She taught me that Portland is also known as The City of Roses, and has probably the best transport system because everyone bicycles there. The city is primarily against the Bush government and there is a lot of citizen participation in making positive changes for the greater community.

What's her occupation? She takes care of rental houses, she looks after her two daughters, and she also designs gardens that are safe and intriguing for children to play and adventure in.

Since Portland seems like a very progressive place, and Shara seemed like a progressive thinker, I asked her what she would suggest about the problem of pollution in India - She replied that we should plant more trees, create more garden/green spaces, provide better mass transportation for everyone in the society.

Her final message to all the Mustard Seeds members (except for Maura Aunty) was... Keep Maura on her toes!