Khaufpur is the setting for a novel which was reviewed in the NYT today: Animal's People, by Indra Sinha. The book was a finalist for the 2007 Man Booker Prize. Khaufpur represents Bhopal, the site of the disastrous 1984 gas leak from the Union Carbide chemical plant (Khauf = fear).
I checked out my horoscope in Khaufpur's Astrology section, maintained by Shri Shri Shadangi Maharaj:
Capricorn: Your sense of humour is needed right now but remember that all things are sent to try us and that the universe is a joke of the Upstairs One so don't life too seriously. Err on the bright side and remember chicken pox only last three weeks.
I was also intrigued by Khaufpur's heritage liqueur, Kesar Kasturi, "a liqueur imbued with saffron and musk". That could inspire some khauf all by itself.
5 comments:
Not entirely convinced by the picture of the sheep on the bottle...
It's not a musk deer?
It is a musk deer, as featured in the famous couplet by the poet Kabir:
teri saain tujh mein tyo puhupan mein baas, kasturi ka mrig jyo phiri phiri dhunde ghaas.
Your Lord is within you like the scent within a flower, yet like the musk deer you wander, seeking the fragrance that comes from within.
Sri Sri Shadangi Maharaj sends his regards. He is currently walking to Delhi. See www.bhopal.net.
I was going to say I wasn't sure a musk deer was any more appetising than a sheep, but having read that couplet I'm inclined to take that back!
I love fictional cities. There, every space can serve as a metaphor, without mucking up traffic.
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