Durban, South Africa
Festival Done
Now that the festival is done, we managed to squeeze in some free time. Like most years, after the Durban event I would chill with some of the members of our drama troupe. We would organize a walk, a picnic, and engage in a kirtan, a read from shastra, the pastimes of Krishna. One year we did all of the above, in addition to playing baseball.
I do recall at that time that wearing a dhoti is not so practical for baseball. You can’t take the broad strides required to make a home run.
Today a group of us decided to hit a great trail somewhere out of the city. Within a half hour drive, we came to one of those very rural paths at a provincial park. Low and behold, we were greeted by a family of zebras. Oblivious to our presence the group of healthy typically African mammals were just grazing away. We meant nothing to them, even though you could go arm’s length distance from them. That was about it as far as sighting wildlife was concerned, except for a small snake that slithered by. Going down a windy trail amidst foliage, bush, cacti and trees, a dhoti, once again, proves impractical. All is pleasant until you brush against smaller plant life. All these little things start sticking to your clothes, such as something called ‘black jacks’ and also ‘sweethearts’. It would be interesting to know the technical Latin terms for them. Our guru, Srila Prabhupada, was quite attuned to the botanical terminologies for exotic trees. He wasn’t just familiar with Sanskrit verses and philosophy, he was all around quite expert at so many things.
May the Source be with you!
4 KM
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