Back in New York
And now we're in New York after a nicely uneventful flight on British Airways. I finally got to see Darjeeling Limited and would sometime like to visit whatever country it was supposed to be set in. It looked like India, but that's more or less where the similarity ends.
I also discovered that when you're checking in on BA, and if you do click that box specifying meal preferences, it actually works. I said that I wanted seafood -- and indeed all the meals were from the sea. I thought that such preferences were just for vegetarians, and those who might not eat certain things for various reasons, but no, seafood-philes can also use them. Unless there's some religion that only eats seafood. If there is, I would like to eat at their house.
I'll have more later, but I have to note that in spite of careful packing the big demon head broke on the way. Sad, right? It didn't break into too many pieces, though, so maybe something cool can be made of it. The glass covering at least one picture broke too, but we haven't had the energy to investigate it yet. Rugs and small idols of Ganesh and Lord Baliji are being deployed at important locations throughout the house.
Also, damn it's cold -- -2 C, 29 F.
4 comments:
Welcome Home! You have been missed. Can't wait to see you guys.
I do not think the demon head is meant to scare people. It is probably there as a deliberate attempt to mar the building's appearance by adding something considered ugly, so that the building will be spared the "evil" eye by passers by. There is no name to the demon and it is not a religious custom.
Anon: Thanks for the comment. What you say makes a lot of sense to me.
Actually, those demon heads are a throwback to ancient times. You had these huge larger than life painted figures posted outside villages. Imagine coming up on one or more of them in the dark outside a village in a more superstitious day and age. In the neighboring state of TamilNadu they are known as "Oor Kavalan" loosely translated as "Guardian of the village".
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