Events of unknown significance

One of the fascinating things about living in India is the variety of festivities, events and rituals that are played out in public for all to see. Some can be observed on a daily basis and their meaning is often at least relatively transparent. Take for example the women who, early in the morning and singly, methodically walk in a circle around one of the trees that line our road. On several occasions I have walked past as a woman has been engaged in this quiet ritual, or puja, an earthenware pot (presumably filled with water or ghee) clasped in front of her with both hands. There is clearly some offering or supplication being made, perhaps to the tree as a symbol or representation of God.

But the meaning of other events can be opaque. Several months ago, I was in an auto heading towards my colleague’s house at the Western end of Anandnagar road when we slowed down at an intersection and I spotted a procession going in the direction we were to take. On the opposite side of the road to me were seven or eight vehicles in a convoy decked out to look like chariots, of the kind heroes of the Hindu epics are popularly shown to ride. I couldn’t see every chariot in detail, but as we turned onto Anandnagar and alongside the convoy, I stuck my head out of the auto to get a better look. In the nearest vehicle three women sat in a row on a high-backed seat, surrounded by an elaborate structure painted to look silver. In another of the chariots, perched on top of the body of a car, a white statue was sat alone on a similar seat, a white robed and middle-aged attendant kneeling in front. In yet another two women sat either side of a large framed portrait of a shaven-headed man dressed in Gandhian white robes and carrying a black staff. As we drove past I could see that at the very front of the procession there were two elephants, seating boxes strapped into place on their round backs. Several passengers sat in these boxes, holding onto the sides and peering about them. Each elephant had had its face painted in bright red and blue patches, out of which their small eyes twinkled.

Was this a religious event? A celebration of an auspicious occasion? Perhaps a show of respect to some departed Guruji, his portrait carried reverently in the front chariot. The outsized carriages were similar to those sometimes used at weddings, where the groom’s pre-wedding bharat procession involves him sitting on a horse, in a chariot or just riding in a car. But this lacked the loud exuberance of a wedding procession. I described the scene to my colleague when I finally arrived at his house, but he was unable to enlighten me and the event remains a mystery.