Shiva Dancing

Tues 4th August - On our way from Udaipur to Jaipur, Ramesh took a detour to show us one of his special mystery places. We turned off the main road near a town called Tonk and bumped along a road laced with speed humps installed by the locals, finishing our journey at the massive concrete edifice which is the Baselpur Dam – one of the largest dams in India. The area used to be home to numerous villages but was flooded in order to provide water for Jaipur. We walked with Ramesh to a marble stairway leading up to a cave. People milled about, taking leaves and flowers up the stairs. On the left was a small fire pit set in an alcove in which devotees threw coconut husks into the flames. At the top of the stairs in a white tiles temple smaller than our living room was a statue of Shiva – this is a very holy place and people prayed and placed flowers on the shrine, while a water container dripped a constant trickle of water at the foot of the shrine. It was airless and hot and we all clamoured to get a glimpse of Shivling. Ramesh said he could feel the energy generated by the place – Guy and I being cynics thought it might just be the culmination of heat, fire and lack of oxygen & 30 sweaty Hindus.
As we descended the stairs there was a strong smell of incense burning. About 40 women - many with care-worn faces - were joyfully dancing, singing and clapping. I was surrounded by vibrant colours as they twirled and sang. Their chanting was quite mesmerizing and they beckoned me to join them. I tentatively went and sat with them and was suddenly quite overcome and became a bit tearful. After clapping along a bit, I decided to get up and join the dancing.
Opportunities to be among women have been rare in Rajisthan – there is a strong gender divide and women are generally quite removed from the public, rarely mixing with foreigners. I felt privileged to be with such a happy and inclusive group of women and began to feel as light as a feather.