Puja

I have just been anointed for Puja (ritual worship) with my first official tika (the little red dot). Apparently this is what happens when you pop out of the office to the little stationary store at the corner to buy ink cartridges and chocolate. You are suddenly accosted by a smiling, orange toga-wearing man carrying a flowery basket, muttering prayers under his breath and dangling an eye dropper of red ink over your forehead until you stand still enough to allow contact. The eye dropper is then lowered into a small pot of yellow ink held in his flowery basket, raised to your forehead again and orange flower petals patted on the top of your head, constant prayer muttering and head bowing during the whole process. Of course a donation is demanded after, and no matter how much the shopkeeper and I pretended to busy ourselves with the business of finding suitable ink cartridges, the man patiently waited until no more excuses could prevent us from handing 20 rupees over.

And so, literally 2 minutes later I walked the ten metres back to the laughing guard at the gates of my office, looking like a Nepali covered in flower petals, red ink on my forehead and a studded nose. I only need to improve my language skills now and I'm basically one of them. The shop didn't even have any ink cartridges.