patrons: the ladies

I have a colleague, Richard Peters, who would do well to enter Kalighat, even once, and in his joyful exuberance greet the room with his infamous, "Ladies!" 

Let's be honest, he'd get a multitude of blank stares, but he'd also get some yelling, I'm sure.

As mentioned previously, Teresa and I spend much of our time interacting. She moves about whereas I throw myself on a bench right in the middle of the fun. I'm often fearful that a neighbour will pee and my absorbent shorts will be called into action, but this has not yet happened.

Here are some of the ladies we have the pleasure of interacting with. Note: we know few names so we've made some up and none are meant to be derogatory.

• Maya Singh: we've talked about her previously. She has many gaping bed sores. She used to spend the majority of her time wincing and crying but there is expressive joy now. We're pretty confident that she knows who we are. We're pretty confident that she knows we have her back. She makes us laugh.
• Al Pacino (Teresa named her). The connection is real: she looks like Al Pacino. (All the ladies here get their heads shaved upon arrival. Al Pacino has been there for a while so her hair is 1-2 inches long right now). Her real name is Meena, but Teresa is fond of this name and I think it's hilarious. She's becoming a bit feisty as she is stealing her neighbour's food and moving around. She is now tied to a chair regularly.
• bird lady: her face resembles a bird...a pigeon or swallow maybe? She has tiny features. She cries easily - usually within 4 seconds of her talking, she's crying. We have no idea why. Sometimes we'll choose straight up empathy, other times we choose distraction.
• lady with the longest teeth front teeth i've ever seen: she is the one with the dog bite. she smiles a lot. It is easy to make her laugh so whenever I'm feeling like I don't have an abundance of energy, she's one of my go-to's. she also really likes to walk.
• surprise dancer: there is a lady who sits on a side bench and doesn't seem to give much to or take much from the world. Then, one day a bunch of the ladies were walking/exercising to the music (sidebar: often it is local music but then, once in a while, they bust out some Kenny G saxophone solo stuff). She was walking along and then all of a sudden busted out soft, choreographed dance moves. It was such a picture of beauty to see her tap into her own world and be mobile, free and immersed in something connected outside of herself.
• beside the surprise dancer sits colouring lady. She says nothing and rarely moves. She spends her time staring down at the table. Every morning after medicine and teeth brushing she is given crayons/pastels and colouring books. Everything is perfectly in the lines. She refuses to colour on a page where there has been any previous colouring. Again, it is neat to see her engage in her alternate world.
• Schizophrenic lady - again, not meaning to be derogatory, rather, descriptive. She joined us three days ago. She came in with a maggot-infested heel but with positive vibes and a jovial, interactive spirit. The second day she was forlorn and withdrawn. Yesterday, day 3, she was immersed in her own world, rocking back and forth, talking quietly and consistently to herself, staring at things in the distance, reaching out for things in the air and then had random outbursts of rage. She threw her plate down when she was finished and she took a couple of swings at Teresa when she tried to get her to go to bed at 12.
• there is a little lady with a very flat face...not sure how else to describe her. I'm sure she has Greek and Italian in her blood because she'll just holler at me and Teresa. Without ceasing. Sadly, we often reply with laughter which gets us a look of confusion as opposed to anger. We're both drawn to her. Yesterday she full on hollered at Teresa but by the end of the day was showering her with hugs and kisses.
• Dahli: she has beautiful eyes. If they aren't blue, they're deceivingly green. She's a sweetheart who loves to walk, dance and cup your face in her hands.
• the blind lady: I fed her on my first day. She was an easy feed for as soon as she sensed the spoon, she full-on lunged for it. She is toothless and, I think, has cataracts.
• Kanon: 60 something and I will be doing some Physical Therapy with her soon. Her left side is strong and her right side is week. If she can build up strength in her right side she should be able to work on balance and, then walking. She beams as we descend the stairs in the morning - so either she really likes white people or she recognizes and is genuinely excited to see us. She has a mouthful of brown teeth that, in Canada, would be not appealing but here, after a perspective change, she is deemed one of the lucky ones because her brown teeth are still in her mouth.

There are others and will be more others, but this is today's snapshot.