Bebo's Style Bible...

 It's party time! What a super fabulous way to launch the imprint! I am on top of the world!

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This appeared in Mumbai Mirror on Saturday....

                               Like a virgin…

Last week, I made my virgin trip to Assam. I am ready to make a shame faced confession, right here, right now : visiting the Seven Sisters was never a top priority. I was attracted – yes – but also apprehensive. The usual reservations : is it safe? Will I  get my head blown off by assorted insurgents? How does one even get to the North East? Stupid, ignorant reservations, I agree. And then came the invitation to visit. Daunting logistics followed. No direct flights to Guwahati from Mumbai… I was told it was easier and cheaper to go to Bangkok. But I wanted to go to Guwahati, not Bangkok, I clarified. WHY???? asked the bewildered travel agent. Good question. Many lousy excuses later, the trip was on. Well… media men, Zarir Hussain, and his older brother Wasbir , took care of all earlier doubts ( with a little extra persuasion from Arnab Goswami – a proud son of Assam himself). I was invited to present an Award ( Assamese of the Year) to Olympian Shiva Thapa – cute as a button and all of nineteen. Apart from this important event, I had long nurtured a selfish interest or two in visiting Guwahati. Dipping my feet into the mighty Brahmaputra that flows through the city, was one. And paying obeisance to Kamakhya, the Mother Goddess, who resides in a deep dark and wet cave ( the sanctum sanctorum of the ancient temple) was another. This historic pilgrimage site is perched  800 feet above sea level on the top of the Nilachal Hill. And here’s the interesting part :  Consider this - the Brahmaputra, which flows past Nilachal Hill, is the only ‘male’ river in India. I needed to check out its testosterone levels ( very alpha and most impressive).  Kamakhya being a Shakti Peeth, is fiercely female, the seat of Tantricism,  and perhaps the most important manifestation of female energy. The juxtaposition! Wow!  I, umm,  desperately needed my fix of unadulterated female energy. I am happy to report, I experienced an overwhelming surge of the same, as I crouched next to the natural underground stream in the cave ( let me skip the yoni reference) and tasted the icy cold water. It did wonders for my estrogen levels. I swear! And I exaggerate not when I say I emerged from the dark recesses of the cave into bright sunlight feeling like Angelina Jolie on steroids or Lara Croft unchained. I was ready to take on the world.

Legends around the divine power of Kamakhya abound. She is often described as the ‘Menstruating Goddess’ . The annual Ambubachi festival attracts thousands of visitors from across the world. The privacy of the Goddess is scrupulously maintained for those three days when the underground stream turns blood red  ( iron oxide). Childless couples throng the courtyard seeking divine intervention. Tantriks make a fortune, as believers sip a mildly intoxicating brew out of a monkey’s skull.Some blessed couples return a year later,carrying new born infants in their arms. Who can question faith and miracles? On its part, the ferocious Brahmaputra claims its own victims when it floods. A centuries old structure named ‘Urvashi’ juts out into the river and is closely watched by locals when the waters start to rise dangerously. It is believed the town of Guwahati will get entirely submerged the day the tip of the Urvashi tower goes under water.

I met several bright ,beautiful and accomplished ladies of Guwahati, including a senior cop. I asked them about the Kamakhya effect. Did they feel more empowered living in the shadow of the awe inspiring Devi? They exchanged looks and smiled mysteriously. One of them confessed coyly that the last time she had spontaneously gone up to her husband to give him a cuddle, he had looked up in alarm and asked, “What’s wrong?” She said, she had shrugged and said, “Nothing…. sorry!” Oh oh. I looked across the room at their husbands who were busy sorting out national and global problems. I figured the  macho Brahmaputra had exercised its effect on that lot. They were happy in their alpha heaven. As for us, we were left stranded on the banks of the male river, waiting for deliverance…despite Kamakhya watching over us. My own pumped up estrogen levels  were also rapidly waning. No worries. I’ll find me a new fix soon.