Demolishing the impenetrable rampart of inner darkness by her smile, the lustre of her orb-like face makes us here pure of heart. (Quintessence of Sri Vidya, Kapali Sastry)

All mights and greatness shall join in her,

Beauty shall walk celestial on the earth,

Delight shall sleep in the cloud-net of her hair

And in her body as on his homing tree

Immortal Love shall beat his glorious wings.

A music of griefless things shall weave her charm;

The harps of the Perfect shall attune her voice,

The streams of Heaven shall murmur in her laugh,

Her lips shall be the honeycombs of God,

Her limbs his golden jars of ecstasy,

Her breasts the rapture-flowers of Paradise.

She shall wear Wisdom in her voiceless bosom,

Strength shall be with her like a conqueror's sword

And from her eyes the Eternal's bliss shall gaze.

A seed shall be sown in Death's tremendous hour,

A branch of heaven transplant to human soil;

Nature shall overleap her mortal step;

Fate shall be changed by an unchanging will.

(Savitri, Aurobindo)

Room available at the intersection of dreaming and dawn, crowded, furnished with amulets and icons, easily accessible to memories, temporary only. Close to unfamiliar roads, dimly lit and unrecognizable. Visitors allowed.

There is something about bronze I find hard to resist especially Indian, Bengali and Nepalese. I even have pieces from Sri Lanka which are hard to come by. Bronze can last for centuries. It has a convincing illusion of permanence. Contemporary artisans are descended from families that trace their roots to the Chola and Pallava eras and they still live on their ancestral lands in remote villages.

There is a grand hotel on the water just down the street from a large aquarium. Guests stay for a few days here while they golf and shop and the fishes and sharks spend the day swimming right inside their own rooms. The people seemed more interested in the ocean life than they do about us.