Lake Town, the bustling Calcuttan neighborhood where we’re staying, has been exceptionally lively over the last week.  West Bengal held its state government elections on Saturday, pitting the long-ruling Communist party against the TMC.  Don’t ask me what that acronym stands for—I’m not entirely sure, though I think that ‘C’ stands for Congress.  The TMC is sort of like India’s right-wing equivalent, though it’s not a direct correlation to the way things work in the U.S. (just as the Communist party here isn’t really “communist” or even “leftist” in the way we consider those ideologies).

In the US, campaigners bring their hostile attack ads to voters through television.  They may do that here too, but we have experienced the debate mostly on the ground level.  Campaign signs and billboards adorn every street corner, and both parties have slung flags over virtually all the telephone polls.  We have even spotted some gruesome attack ads that depict mutilated human faces and dead bodies, with (presumably) an accompanying accusation from one party to another.  Organizers drive down the streets with megaphones and loudspeakers, shouting political fodder in a painfully loud, rapid-fire Bengalese.

Graffiti also seems to be a common method of getting the word out. Megan has a fondness for the TMC’s nationalistic and aesthetically pleasing flowers.  Wherever else they may have fallen short, Communists with a big C have always been very adept at branding.  The hammer and sickle never ceases to be intimidating and powerful, even after so many humiliating mutations.

The results aren’t in as of today, but the outcome is expected to favor the TMC.  After decades of neglect and corruption, it seems as though Calcuttans are fed up with the Commies, and plan to vote for the opposition in overwhelming numbers.  Most people don’t seem especially optimistic that things will get better, but change is overdue, even if it ends up being largely symbolic.  Vladimir Ilyich is churning around in his glass sarcophagus! (Brendan)