Climbing Chamundi Hill : 1001 Steps With a Storyteller and a Reluctant Pilgrim - Softcover

Ariel Glucklich

3.63

81 ratings by Goodreads

9780553815351: Climbing Chamundi Hill : 1001 Steps With a Storyteller and a Reluctant Pilgrim

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0553815350 ISBN 13: 9780553815351

Publisher: Bantam, 2004

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At the top of the 1,001 steps up Chamundi Hill, there lies a 12th-century temple that houses the golden statue of Chamundi, the Hindu goddess worshipped by the Maharajas. A popular pilgrimage site, this sacred place honours this consort of Shiva who saved the citizens of Mysore from the monstrous rule of their mythical king. Set against the exotic background of Southern India, "Climbing Chamundi Hill" follows the experiences of a young tourist who, befriended by an old Indian guide, somewhat reluctantly embarks upon the arduous climb to the sacred Shiva temple. Having journeyed to the top of the hill many times, the old pilgrim offers to accompany the young man on his journey and to relate many ancient Indian tales that will help to ease their way and pass the time. So begins a mystical adventure for narrator and reader alike.

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About the Author:

Ariel Glucklich is an expert in Sanskrit literature and is an Associate Professor of Hinduism at Georgetown University, Washington D.C. He is a former Senior Fulbright Fellow and is the author of five previous books and numerous articles on Hinduism.

From Publishers Weekly:

Religion scholar Glucklich (Sacred Pain: Hurting the Body for the Sake of the Soul) presents 30 ancient Hindu folktales, slotting them into the contrived story of an unnamed American biologist in South India. While walking barefoot near the sacred site of Chamundi Hill (simply because he wants to dry his wet sneakers), the narrator meets P.K. Shivaram, a retired librarian, who mistakes the biologist for a pilgrim and takes pity on his tender foreign feet. As they approach the 1,001 steps leading to a 12th-century Chamundi temple, the "tiny wrinkled man in brown polyester pants and worn out rubber thongs" distracts the biologist from his aching feet by telling him pilgrimage stories. The rather preachy riddles and fables, some of which are translated from Sanskrit for the first time, feature casts of kings, demons and talking animals and deliver pat moral lessons. The narrator and librarian dissect each tale on a metaphorical journey to Nirvana-a technique that feels irksomely artificial-and Glucklich dumbs down his American narrator (says the narrator to his guide: "First Shiva, now Vishnu-you know, I never could figure out your complicated polytheism"). In a few instances, Glucklich presents meaningful reflections: "No event in your life is a simple objective fact. It always means something to the memory-processing mind." Still, the flashes of substance feel isolated within a narrative that struggles to reach enlightenment.
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