disquiet me in anyone else. I should fear rashness; with you it reassures me, I regard it as

the power of your innermost desires that drives you.`

Johanna wasted no time; she notified Arthur`s merchant patron and his landlord

that Arthur was leaving Hamburg, she organized his move and arranged for him to attend

a gymnasium in Gotha, fifty kilometers from his mother`s home in Weimar.

Arthur`s chains were broken.

Pam in India

_________________________

Itis noteworthy and remarkable

to see how man, besides his

life in the concrete, always

lives a second life in the

abstract...(where) in the sphere

of calm deliberation, what

previously possessed him

completely and moved him

intensely appears to him cold,

colorless, and distant: he is

a mere spectator and observer.

_________________________

As the Bombay–Igatpuri train slowed for a stop at a small village, Pam heard the clangs

of ceremonial cymbals and peered through the grimy train window. A dark–eyed boy of

about ten or eleven, pointing to her window, ran alongside holding aloft a raised rag and

yellow plastic water pail. Since she had arrived in India two weeks ago, Pam had been

shaking her head no. No to sightseeing guides, shoe shines, freshly squeezed tangerine

juice, sari cloth, Nike tennis shoes, money exchange. No to beggars and no to numerous

sexual invitations, sometimes offered frankly, sometimes discreetly by winking, raising

eyebrows, licking lips, and flicking tongues. And, finally, she thought, someone has

actually offered me something I need. She vigorously nodded yes, yes to the young

window washer, who responded with a huge toothy grin. Delighted with Pam`s patronage

and audience, he washed the pane with long theatrical flourishes.

Paying him generously and shooing him away as he lingered to stare at her, Pam

settled back and watched a procession of villagers snake their way down a dusty street

following a priest clad in billowing scarlet trousers and yellow shawl. Their destination

was the center of the town square and a large papier–mГўchГ© statue of Lord Ganesha, a

short plump Buddha–like body bearing an elephant`s head. Everyone—the priest, the men

dressed in gleaming white, and the women robed in saffron and magenta—carried small

Ganesha statues. Young girls scattered handfuls of flowers, and pairs of adolescent boys

carried poles holding metal burners emitting clouds of incense. Amid the clash of

cymbals and the roll of drums, everyone chanted, «Ganapathi bappa Moraya, Purchya

varshi laukariya.»

«Pardon me, can you tell me what they`re chanting?» Pam turned to the copper–skinned man sitting opposite her sipping tea, the only other passenger sharing the

compartment. He was a delicate win–some man dressed in a loose white cotton shirt and

trousers. At the sound of Pam`s voice he swallowed the wrong way and coughed

furiously. Her question delighted him since he had been attempting, in vain, since the

train commenced in Bombay to strike up a conversation with the handsome woman

sitting across from him. After a vigorous cough he replied, with a squeak, «My apologies,

madam. Physiology is not always at one`s command. What the people here, and

throughout all of India today, are saying is ‘Beloved Ganapati, lord of Moraya, come

again early next year.`”

«Ganapati?»

«Yes, very confusing, I know. Perhaps you know him by his more common name,

Ganesha. He has many other names, as well, for example, Vighnesvara, Vinayaka,

Gajanana.»

«And this parade?»

«The beginning of the ten–day festival of Ganesha. Perhaps you may be fortunate

enough to be in Bombay next week at the end of the festival and witness the entire

population of the city walk into the ocean and immerse their Ganesha statues in incoming

waves.»

«Oh, and that? A moon? Or sun?» Pam pointed to four children carrying a large

yellow papier–mГўchГ© globe.

Vijay purred to himself. He welcomed the questions and hoped the train stop

would be long and that this conversation would go on and on. Such voluptuous women

were common in American movies, but never before had he had the good fortune to

speak to one. This woman`s grace and pale beauty stirred his imagination. She seemed to

have stepped out of the ancient erotic carvings of the Kama Sutra. And where might this

encounter lead? he wondered. Could this be the life–changing event for which he had

long sought? He was free, his garment factory had, by Indian standards, made him

wealthy. His teenaged fiancГ©e died of tuberculosis two years ago, and, until his parents

selected a new bride, he was unencumbered.

«Ah, it is a moon the children hold. They carry it to honor an old legend. First, you

must know that Lord Ganesha was renowned for his appetite. Note his ample belly. He

was once invited for a feast and stuffed himself with desert pastries called laddoos. Have

you eaten laddoos?»

Pam shook her head, fearing that he might produce one from his valise. A close

friend had contracted hepatitis from a tea shop in India, and thus far she had heeded her

physician`s advice to eat nothing but four–star–hotel food. When away from the hotel she

had limited herself to food she could peel—mainly tangerines, hard–boiled eggs, and

peanuts.

«My mother made wonderful coconut almond laddoos,” Vijay continued.

«Essentially, they are fried flour balls with a sweet cardamom syrup—that sounds

prosaic, but you must believe me when I say they are far more than the sum of their

ingredients. But back to Lord Ganesha, who was so stuffed that he could not stand up

properly. He lost his balance, fell, his stomach burst, and all the laddoos tumbled out.

«This all took place at night with only one witness, the moon, who found the event

hilarious. Enraged, Ganesha cursed the moon and banished him from the universe.

However, the whole world lamented the moon`s absence, and an assembly of gods asked

Lord Shiva, Ganesha`s father, to persuade him to relent. The penitent moon also

apologized for his misbehavior. Finally, Ganesha modified his curse and announced that

the moon need be invisible only one day a month, partially visible the remainder of the

month, and for one day only would be permitted to be visible in its full glory.»

A brief silence and Vijay added, «And now you know why the moon plays a role in

Lord Ganesha festivals.»

«Thank you for that explanation.»

«My name is Vijay, Vijay Pande.»

«And mine is Pam, Pam Swanvil. What a delightful story, and what a fantastical

droll god—that elephant head and Buddha body. And yet the villagers seem to take their

myths so seriously...as though they were really—”

«It`s interesting to consider the iconography of Lord Ganesha,” Vijay gently

interrupted as he pulled from his shirt a large neck pendant on which was carved the

image of Ganesha. «Please note that every feature on Ganesha has a serious meaning, a

life instruction. Consider the large elephant head: it tells us to think big. And the large

ears? To listen more. The small eyes remind us to focus and to concentrate and the small

mouth to talk less. And I do not forget Ganesha`s instruction—even at this moment as I

talk to you I remember his counsel and I warn myself not to talk too much. You must

help by telling me when I tell you more than you wish to know.»

«No, not at all. I`m most interested in your comments on iconography.»