Spiritraveller

On the road from the Nimishamba Devi Temple in Srirangapatana to the Chamundeshwari Temple, Mysore a few thoughts come to mind.  Why does the Indian male treat the women in his life so badly? We chant the names of the Goddess with a fervor, we pray in fear because many of Her forms are that of a warrior, destroyer of evil, a clearer of routes. We call to her Maa, mother Goddess! Red bandannas with silver trims are tied to head, wrists and car mirrors as a proof of our devotion – and then we read an endless litany of newspaper stories describing rapes, gang-rapes, juvenile rapes, wife beatings and many such desecrations of the Devis closer home. We climb hills to pay obeisance because reaching Her always requires effort, bhajans are sung all night long in lusty voice - and then closer home, abysmal disrespect? Another   thought is the magical change that topography can undergo in a fairly short Indian road trip. From rivers and canals, red earth and green fie...