Thursday 16 July 2009

Monday, July 13th, 2009

Tummy Trouble

Toronto, Ontario

I have been watching with great interest the youthful organizers of our community here come up with great promotional gimmicks. To catch the public attention towards the weekend's Festival of Chariots/India, Toronto's answer to Time Square known as Dundas Square was booked for a spicy dosa eating contest.

On the stage contestants, mostly young males, from every part of the world ate heartily to this getting-used-to savory, a favorite of South India. The competition was fierce (on the stomach) and it aroused the crowd who witnessed this super dynamic game of good and spicy hot fun.

On the first round of contestants our newly arrived boy from South Africa, Josh, came out as the winner. Not bad for a young monk who doesn't necessarily have a voracious appetite. The bad side was, however, his tummy took its toll. You always have to pay for passion play. Too much chili puts food in the mode of rajas, restlessness. Josh ended up going to a walk-in-clinic.

Anyways I was getting indigestion just looking at the next round of ambitious eaters. It was time to head back on foot to the temple for drama practice. The feet were put to good use making a pastoral visit to the hospital, a swami's natural obligation. During the Sunday service a member suffered a serious heart attack and was whisked away by paramedics to Mount Sinai Hospital.

Whether the heart or the tummy, our bodies are fragile.

7 KM

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