Snippets from Puri and Kolkata
Snippet 1
One look at the room and the bathroom in the ashram and I wanted to run out of there and never look back. The place had a look of not just decrepitude but also seemed unsanitary and a tad sad. The only saving grace, after I had spotted an enormous house lizard and made a face at the openly displayed garbage vats,was the resident kitty cat. He was thin as a reed and white as milk with only a head and tail of grey. He lay idling in the courtyard so still that we thought he was no more. But once I petted him and scratchy scratched his pretty little head he squirmed this way and that for more.
It followed me across the courtyard and made figure eights around my feet, it jumped onto my friend's lap and made itself cosy. Altogether a tamer cat I have yet to meet. Almost made up for my stay there.
Snippet 2
It is difficult to be a non believer and try to blend into masses of devotees. At the Puri Jagannath temple one has to leave footwear far outside and walk barefoot with a 'panda' (no relation to the cute black and white bear) inside. It truly is a large temple complex some structures dating back more than 5 centuries. What I understood is that religion is a well oiled machine that runs on cash. The panda took us to a man in a counter behind bars and asked us to pay him the amount for which we wanted to place an offering to God. It was preposterous but since that is what thousands of people were doing without question I forked out the money. The only thought running through my head being how things which are absolutely meaningless and glaringly wrong become acceptable just because they are popularly practiced.
Snippet 3
Giving a bath to Tiger (my dog) is an ordeal on the best of days. But this time it was funny because Robin wanted to video the whole procedure which meant that he had to stand at the door of the bathroom and play goalie while a wet and shivering Tiger constantly tried to slither out of my clutches and out. I laughed so hard that I cried. After the shampooing and washing our little hero stormed out of the bathroom door and onto the large double bed. Then he proceeded to move in circles all the while rubbing himself on the bed-cover. all present had a much needed amusing break from the grave circumstances that had brought us home in the first place.
Snippet 4
We had had a long day and my feet were aching from all the walking. It was the night before the Pujas were officially to begin and Calcutta was in no mood to sleep. After dinner, feeling a little restless I asked Robin to come out for a walk with me to Maddox Square. He was only to glad as he would be able to smoke. So he smoked and we walked there and saw the pandal. Once that was done since neither of us were in a mood to go home we continued to follow the decorative lights on the road stopping only to see one puja pandal after the other. It was such a novel experience for me since I had never had anyone to go out on such a nocturnal puja trip with. My city looked and felt beautiful and exciting and it was only when we were thoroughly lost and miles away from home did we finally catch a cab to return.
One look at the room and the bathroom in the ashram and I wanted to run out of there and never look back. The place had a look of not just decrepitude but also seemed unsanitary and a tad sad. The only saving grace, after I had spotted an enormous house lizard and made a face at the openly displayed garbage vats,was the resident kitty cat. He was thin as a reed and white as milk with only a head and tail of grey. He lay idling in the courtyard so still that we thought he was no more. But once I petted him and scratchy scratched his pretty little head he squirmed this way and that for more.
It followed me across the courtyard and made figure eights around my feet, it jumped onto my friend's lap and made itself cosy. Altogether a tamer cat I have yet to meet. Almost made up for my stay there.
Snippet 2
It is difficult to be a non believer and try to blend into masses of devotees. At the Puri Jagannath temple one has to leave footwear far outside and walk barefoot with a 'panda' (no relation to the cute black and white bear) inside. It truly is a large temple complex some structures dating back more than 5 centuries. What I understood is that religion is a well oiled machine that runs on cash. The panda took us to a man in a counter behind bars and asked us to pay him the amount for which we wanted to place an offering to God. It was preposterous but since that is what thousands of people were doing without question I forked out the money. The only thought running through my head being how things which are absolutely meaningless and glaringly wrong become acceptable just because they are popularly practiced.
Snippet 3
Giving a bath to Tiger (my dog) is an ordeal on the best of days. But this time it was funny because Robin wanted to video the whole procedure which meant that he had to stand at the door of the bathroom and play goalie while a wet and shivering Tiger constantly tried to slither out of my clutches and out. I laughed so hard that I cried. After the shampooing and washing our little hero stormed out of the bathroom door and onto the large double bed. Then he proceeded to move in circles all the while rubbing himself on the bed-cover. all present had a much needed amusing break from the grave circumstances that had brought us home in the first place.
Snippet 4
We had had a long day and my feet were aching from all the walking. It was the night before the Pujas were officially to begin and Calcutta was in no mood to sleep. After dinner, feeling a little restless I asked Robin to come out for a walk with me to Maddox Square. He was only to glad as he would be able to smoke. So he smoked and we walked there and saw the pandal. Once that was done since neither of us were in a mood to go home we continued to follow the decorative lights on the road stopping only to see one puja pandal after the other. It was such a novel experience for me since I had never had anyone to go out on such a nocturnal puja trip with. My city looked and felt beautiful and exciting and it was only when we were thoroughly lost and miles away from home did we finally catch a cab to return.
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