35053668-Empire-of-the-Soul-Paul-William-Roberts

290
EMPIRE OF THE SOUL
flaming kerosene tapers, this was an Oriental Vanity Fair, a
dangerous meeting place of greed and the most ferocious form of
God ever yet conceived by humankind. As I was expecting, a young
Brahmin accosted me, offering to perform pujas and show me the
temple. Kicking my loafers beneath a stall, I followed him through
muddy puddles barefoot, stopping at a stand selling the items
necessary for approaching the deity. You never approach deities
empty-handed. A coconut, a few yards of jasmine flowers threaded
on cotton, a few sticks of incense, and – Kali is a woman, after all –
some large glass bangles. The price?
‘One hundred and one rupees,’ said the vendor.
Five rupees was what these items were worth, so I complained
bitterly. ‘OK, friend,’ he relented. ‘One hundred rupees.’
‘This for goddess Kali,’ my Brahmin reminded me, hinting that
Kali had no time for cheapskates.
I paid up and followed the fellow, in his loincloth, thread, and
hair shaved but for a tuft on top. Our first stop was a small shrine
that contained a stunted tree with a profusion of little branches to
which many small red rags had been tied and bangles attached on
suitable twigs.
‘Name of person making request to Kali Ma?’ the Brahmin
demanded.
‘Lady Sinha,’ I told him.
‘This is your name?’ he asked, not particularly surprised.
I couldn’t be bothered with an explanation, so I just nodded.
‘Repeat after me,’ I was told.
He recited a series of Vedic invocations, with me repeating them
after him, line by line. He seemed pleased with my Sanskrit
pronunciation. After each invocation, we placed incense beneath
the tree and bangles in its branches, and then I tied a little rag he
gave me to one twig. Finally, yodelling at full volume for Kali’s grace,
I smashed a coconut open on a specially provided rock, spraying its
milk over the tree and throwing chunks of meat onto an aluminium
tray. Then sacred water was poured over my head, and the Brahmin
led me off toward the main shrine. A thick crowd of people stood on
tiptoe and craned their necks for a glimpse of the goddess as they
swarmed around the bars walling off this enclosure. The Brahmin