"And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." — Anais Nin

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Why India has been proclaimed as the home of universal brotherhood, why it is in fact the home of Ramakrishna, is difficult to tell, though the former is more difficult than the latter. But I am grateful to the English for at least one thing: language. Indian English is a tongue unto itself, it is true, but it is far easier to pick up than Bengali or Hindi, and anyway many of the Indians speak neither Bengali nor Hindi, even in Calcutta, and without some way of communication the first few days would be impossible

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In October is the festival of Durga Puja, which celebrates the time when Uma, the wife of Shiva, comes home to visit her mother for the first time after her wedding to Shiva. Her mother weeps to see her, calling her her little girl, getting her sari all tangled up in her confusion, and saying, 'Oh, he is not good enough for my darling. Why, he didn't even come home with you. Why did I ever let you marry him? I know he is a god, but he is a beggar. I know he is handsome, but he is so unconventional. I know he is well dressed, but he wears so little. I'll bet he doesn't even make enough money to feed you properly.' Uma smiles and says nothing, but after four days Shiva comes to take her back again, saying that he cannot live without her even for another day.* And so she goes with him, and that is the end of the main part of the festival. So you see, it is the same all over. That is the way that parents are about daughters, even if they marry gods

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