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“Will I be getting a rat manicure or a straightforward amputation?” |
They call it the eighth wonder of the world. Karni Mata Temple - the only temple of its kind in India, and I am pretty sure, the rest of the world. Tucked away on the fringes of dusty Rajasthan, in a little village called Deshnok, Karni Mata is famous for worshipping rats.
The temple is full of live, squirming rats – hundreds if not thousands of them, running through the temple (and yes, you have to take your shoes off before entering). The rats are fed grain, milk, and water. They are completely unafraid of people. They jump on you if you are in their way. They run through your feet, they come and sniff you. I am not squeamish, but when I see a pack of huge rats sniffing my bare toes, my mind goes: “Will I be getting a rat manicure or a straightforward amputation?” Fortunately, my feet must not have smelled appetizing enough. Still, whoever said that the difference between a rat and a squirrel is just a cute tail has never visited Karni Mata.
Overall, at Karni Mata (as in many other places in India) you have to surrender your notions of what’s normal. Pilgrims really worship these animals, believing them to be reincarnations of ancient storytellers turned into rats because of some arcane argument between two Hindu gods. When you visit, as you walk the marble floors you will feel something crunching under your feet and you won’t be sure whether it is the grain, rice, or the rat droppings. It is considered auspicious when rats run over your feet (and they will). See if you can train your mind to say to yourself: “Wow, another rat ran over me, excellent!" If you stand too close to a wall or a gate, the rats will jump on you (yes, they did jump on me). If you put your bag down, they will play hide and seek inside it. If you spot the elusive white rat, you can supposedly expect even greater luck; and the absolute pinnacle of good fortune is to taste the rat food covered with rat saliva - which brings me to my revelation of the day: I am so lucky in my life that eating the rat food would be undeniably selfish. There are so many more deserving people. In the spirit of selflessness and compassion, I am leaving the tasting for you people. You really don’t have to thank me. :)
previous travel blog entry
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