Spirited by Julie Cohen

Author:Julie Cohen [Cohen, Julie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Historical, Victorian, Body; Mind & Spirit, Supernatural (Incl. Ghosts), Photography, Techniques, Darkroom
Publisher: Orion Publishing Group, Limited
Published: 2021-08-04T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-eight

April, 1857

Delhi

They climbed to the top of the ruined temple with the help of a vine hanging from the peepul tree and sat there, legs dangling over the side, slapping at the mosquitoes that buzzed in their ears. From here, Jonah could see the shadows and fires of the city spread out beneath him. Above, the stars glittered like diamonds on velvet.

‘I can’t get used to the idea that these are the same stars that I see back home,’ said Jonah. ‘Almost everything seems different here in India, and yet there is the Plough, and the Little Bear, and Orion the warrior.’

‘They are the same stars, but we have different names for them,’ said Pavan, pointing to the stars of the Plough, one by one. ‘These are the seven sages, Rishis. They make the sun rise and set, and they were married to seven sisters.’

‘Were married?’

‘According to legend, only one was faithful. Arundhati. There she is – the smallest star.’ Pavan pointed. ‘The other six are there, the Krittika.’

‘The Pleiades, in English. So many stories, about balls of gas and fire.’

‘This is the definition of what it is to be human: to invent stories to explain what we see around us. A monkey will accept. A human will mythologise.’

Jonah leaned back on his hands, tilting his head back, kicking his heels in the air like a child. ‘Which do you believe? The Plough, the sages, the balls of gas and fire?’

‘In a sense, I believe them all. I was taught one meaning as a child, and as I grow I learn more and more.’ Pavan’s voice gained a familiar note of humour. ‘I am a Hindu in a city ruled by Christians and Mohammedans. It is advantageous to me to be flexible in my beliefs whenever possible.’

‘Some would say that choosing one’s beliefs according to advantage means that none of the beliefs are true at all.’

Pavan paused for a long time before answering at last, speaking slowly as if formulating his own beliefs as he expressed them.

‘I believe them all, and none,’ he said. ‘I am more than one thing, you see. I am a Hindu; I make offerings at this temple for Radharani. I am also a scholar at the college, discovering another story about the Universe that does not include Shiva and Rama. Which is true? I cannot choose one – how can I, when there are so many? All stories are true, or none. I find more beauty if they are all true.’

‘Listening to you, I feel as if I wasted my education. I went to Oxford but I was never very good at anything except for drawing.’

Pavan smiled. ‘My brother says that once I start on a topic I am like a horse who has been stung by a fly. I must learn to rein myself in.’

‘Viola says that one of the reasons she likes taking photographs is because to those who don’t understand the chemistry, the process is indistinguishable from magic.’

‘Will …’ Pavan paused. They rarely discussed personal questions.

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