The Hanuman temple near our home is celebrating Hanumath Jayanti..the roads around the temple are full of little stalls that have mushroomed overnight. I wandered around this afternoon in the misty drizzle and enjoyed myself hugely. Miniature stainless steel utensils; tiny cups, agarbathi holders and crude statuettes of men and gods in cheap ceramic;artificial flowers and plants in varieties never seen before on earth;plastic hand pumps with fluorescent green bodies and handles of bright pink;keychains,glass,metal and lac bangles galore; a hundred different varieties of plastic household goods;cheap jewellery, cheap toys, cheap fried snacks and even cheaper, but healthy, puffed rice;gadgets for making “modaks” and “somasi”, with the shopkeepers kneading flour for the demos….I bought my neighbours’ children some bright,shiny, colourful wrapping-paper windmills. I just loved the festive atmosphere and went back in the evening to look at the decoration of the temple itself. With lights and crowds milling around, I felt that truly, the temple was the social focus of the area….I had a wonderful time today.