Opposite the Dandpan Temple are stalls selling temple offerings: garlands, leaves, petals and small clay urns of Ganges water. Shailesh takes us through the dense crowd shuffling and pushing for position near the sacred tank which has replaced the sacred well. We see an evolution of Twain’s ceremony. He “bent over the Well and looked. If the fates are propitious, you will see your face pictured in the water far down in the well. If matters have been otherwise ordered, a sudden cloud will mask the sun and you will see nothing, not a good sign.” Now we see a Brahmin conduct a highly complicated routine of Ganges water management, whereby he pours Shailesh’s watery offerings into a tank full of soaking garlands, leaves and petals and ladles some of it back into Shailesh’s cupped hands. Shailesh in turn pours it back into the tank and then touches his wet palms onto his forehead; this is repeated three times to ensure that the fates are positive. I ask Shailesh how he feels, fate-wise; he shrugs fatalistically and says “only time will tell”.
(The Indian Equator)