Dog Song

Last night sitting on the veranda after dinner and talking with my host, Remy, I heard the most soul-stirring dog song. It spoke of sorrow and loss. And a longing for connection, maybe to humans, or maybe just to other dogs. I must say it haunted me in the middle of the night.

In the morning I mentioned my heartbreak to Remy and he told me that he had felt the same way when he first arrived here. He had fed the local dogs and they began to gain strength--that led to their barking all night. Remy said he began to put sleeping pills in their food, but cleverly they spit them out. So he stopped feeding them and they went back to a somnolent life. Quiet. Remy says that a hungry dog is a quiet dog.

Ayurvedic massage was great. I had warm unrefined sesame oil massaged into my hair and body. The table was a beautiful local wood, hard and gushy with oil. Slipping and sliding around, smile. I feel good today. I did get to take a shower, but not with soap. The young man who ran the center was very professional. He had formulated traditional hair and body scrubs from herbs and dal. We had young coconut water afterward. Then Mukti took me to have sev puri and pani puri, which I'll post photos of. Tiny deep-fried puffs filled with a bit of spiced potatoes, minced onion, tamarind chutney and in the case of pani puri, a water simmered with cilantro, mint and cumin seed.