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n o r o :xl 'U I o -i o (/) N Z .., o -i o The prolific genius of V S Naipaul Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions Among the �ted Peoples (June 1998) �in the World (1995) los Simuladores (1995) - �in the World: A Novel (1994) �y: Gateway of India (1994) � on the Island (1993) A House for Mr Biswas (1993) - 2::::!:!lIas (1990, India: A Million Mutinies Now (1990) - A Turn in the South (1989) - �d in the River (1989, �igma of Arrival (1988, In a Free State (1984) Random House - � the Centre (1984) � the Beli s: An 1sIa .Jou (1981, The Return of Eva Peron: With the Killings in Trinidad (1980) - India: A Wounded Civilization (1977) - �ss of Eldorado: A History (1977) �ne and the Knight's Companion (1977) The Mimic Men (1976) - �e of Elvira (1976) � Street (1974) The Overcrowded Barracoon (1972) �stic Masseur (1971) An Area of Darkness (1964) - � Passage (1962) By 9AM hundreds are waiting at the southern temple gate to watch the more gruesome daily Tantric sacrifice of three goats. These souls are decorated in grand flower garlands; they are revered, loved for their simple life-loss. A temple youth bangs a drum while one goat is led to the chopping block. The crowd cheers, joyous, when the head rolls onto the tiled temple holy ground. The bloody body, still standing, wriggles headless for many seconds before it fal ls limp. For special rituals a cow is given-and in rural areas it is believed young virgins still go missing. They, too, are loved, worshipped for their sacrifice. One of Mother Teresa's Homes for the Dying & Destitute adjoins the Kali Temple, attempting to subdue this seething city. Most of Her volunteers are atheists and many not even Christian, yet all want to "do good" under the umbrella of Our Mother. For a fanatical cult of Mother Teresa had developed while she was alive. The corporeal soul was a religious celebrity, photo shoots occurred almost every day. Meeting Her meant meeting God because She was the embodiment of all that is noble about Catholicism, and the West: benevolent, beautiful patronage. Vo lu nteers deal with their duties in different ways, aspiring to become selfless, to trust, to dissipate into the yoga of passionate work, when work is God and worship is giving life, being active in love-Bhakti Yoga. But you cannot speak the language, you aren't a doctor. Patients will call you to their bed because they need someone. They talk tire lessly in Bengali, maybe clasp a part of your body, maybe cry. And you aren't there: selfish, temporary, transient, desiring but not acting. You are thankful when all you can do is change a bedpan, steadily in control. Death, chaos, Kali. We don't want to know about big, bad, festering Calcutta, the source of these patients, with its powerful people and sick animal rituals, though we came to this city to soak in its salvation. We prefer to hold the spoon for the weak, to timidly sacrifice ourselves through Her ways of passion and resignation and giving love. We, too, want spiritual liberation. Hence Ca Icutta : dirty beauty. City of spiritual sacrifice, a metaphor for the modern world: The passions of Kali's age conveyed through love, labor and humid heat. D