0 commentsWent to the Ellora Caves on an overnight trip yesterday.
Things are getting out of hand here at the Meherabad commune. The modern day Christ figure that people worship here - Meher Baba - dropped his body on January 31st, 1969. Every year on that date, followers come to his tomb/shrine and worship together. People say that it is a lot of singing and dancing and generally a good time. It is starting to get crowded.
The day that we arrived (a week ago), there were two or three dozen other pilgrims. I'm just a culture-vulturing tourist, so I shouldn't complain. I will make a guestimate that, at morning prayers today, there were at least a thousand people. We have all been moved to a new huge dormitory that resembles a two-storey castle in the middle of Indian farmland. Most of the new arrivals thus far are Indian people from nearby towns and villages.
I saw somebody playing a tabla - Both drums of the tabla have an inner circle on the head composed of sandalwood or a tar like substance called 'tuning paste' this morning. I was hypnotized for a solid hour staring and these Indian men and women pass the drum around and sing their praise songs of worship. I can best describe playing a tabla drum as dribbling a basketball sideways while rattling your fingers like a tamborine.
Mosquitoes are still a big problem at night. I will get a bus into town, find an ATM and then purchase a mosquito net.