One of the most astonishing expressions of devotion I've ever seen, happens in the temple of Goddess Meenakshi (Parvati) at Madurai, Tamil Nadu. Meenakshi is the boss in this temple, so every night, devotees bring her consort, Lord Sundareswarar (Lord Shiva), to her for a night of lovemaking. And they do, what in Bambaiyya parlance, is called 'full setting': a palanquin ritually carried around the temple by priests, band-baaja, incense, huge crowds tossing flowers. At her bedchamber, priests ceremonially take his silver padukas in, and place both their utsav murtis (festival images) on a swing, in a room full of fragrant jasmine, whose walls are covered with mirrors. Wow. Then the priest shuts the door in a crescendo of music, and everyone scuttles away, grappling with their own imaginations.

I remember being speechless at the goings-on. I inspected the mind. It boggled, as PG Wodehouse would have said. That the gods can do this khullam-khulla, and in a temple, with their devotees actively encouraging their nights of love. It is hard to imagine gods of other religions being brought to their wives/consorts in their bedchambers in a grand ceremony, attended by half the town, without giggling — or attracting short fuses. In fact, most images of Meenakshi show her holding a parrot, a symbol of Kama, the god of love. (Now, if only I had half her love life, minus all the PDA drama).