Jayamala’s claim that she was pushed into the sanctum by the milling crowd behind her is branded by some again as a “conspiracy” to denigrate the Hindu faith.

The Devaswom Board, which administers temples in Kerala, has launched an investigation and dispatched a senior police officer to question Jayamala in Bangalore and submit his report by July 7. The already overstretched police force could have been spared these needless burdens. When shall we break the fetters of superstition and eliminate irrational practices? Ah, that will be the day when the mind shall be free and without fear, and Gurudev’s aspiration will be partially fulfilled.

Summer vacation

Summer vacation was spent exclusively in Britain, mainly in London. The Hay-on-Wye Festival in Wales was a sheer delight. It had a variety of events, ranging from the Media String Quartet to Barrister Philippe Sands pungent talk on Bush, Blair and Rumsfield. The discussion by Helena Kennedy, the eminent criminal lawyer, with Reggie Nadelson about her latest crime mystery was animated.

Vikram Seth, in his charming unassuming manner, discussed his latest book, Two Lives, and Salman Rushdie talked about his works.

Visits to bookshops and the National Portrait Gallery filled my time, apart from renewing old friendships in London and in Oxford. Visit to the New Forest was a refreshing break from city life. It was a unique experience celebrating Vikram Seth’s birthday quietly, with his parents and his sister in his grand home at Salisbury which formerly belonged to the poet George Herbert.

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