TIDBITS 04/27/08
Benjamin Mark
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Makara
Crocodile oh Crocodile
Do sit with me and talk awhile ...
Author Unknown
The fourth tooth of the lower jaw protrudes on each side to
show it is indeed a true crocodile. A beast ... a God ... a
trinket of gems and gold. Makara ... a Sanskrit word which
refers to our amphibian friend.
Ancient India. Birth of a meticulous devotion to bejeweled
craftsmanship. Nothing for the hoi-polloi here folks. The wrists
of the aristocratic ladies of the day were heavily laden with
adornments to make the most Fifth Avenue-ish amongst us
writhe in jealous agony.
Unique jewelry was the cornerstone of Indian culture. Nothing
mundane here. The top of the top ... the best of the best ... and
the rest for the rest. The ladies wore jewels that covered
the parting of their hair and hung down over their foreheads. Her
tresses were engulfed in sheets of gold. Her ears were never
bare. Necklaces hung in cascading clusters from her neck.
Dancing swans hugged her waist. Golden Makara clasped her
wrists. She was bejeweled down to her toes. Nary an inch of
flesh lay uncovered. Ye gads folks ... for all intents and purposes
she could have been naked under all that finery.
In Hindi ... the crocodile is called Magar. This word has evolved
to be written as Mugger ... and it is from this word that we got the
English word for a street thug. He hit me over the head and stole
my pocket book. He's a Crocodile. No no ma'am. He's a Mugger.
Or maybe he is a crocodile.
So how dangerous is a crocodile? Let me tell you this small
mythological tale. Horus--an Egyptian god--was an adversary to Set.
And so he fought an eighty year war with Set in which he took on the
form of a crocodile and while Set tore out his left eye ... he tore
out Set's testicles. The moral of this tale ... you don't pick fights
with crocodiles if you value your family jewels. As an aside ... to be
swallowed by a crocodile is tantamount to beginning your descent into
hell.
There are those who believe that crocodiles make noises like humans in
pain in order to attract their prey. Then ... after having eaten the
poor lad or lass ... they are said to shed tears over the head of
their victim. Whether or not this is because they feel deep regret
over their foul deed or whether or not they have gas and can not stand
the accompanying pain is something I leave for you all to ponder.
For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits...may
I direct you to my home page at www.tyler-adam.com where
you will scroll down the left side menu till you get to the area
that says Current Tidbits ... and then click on it in order to view
a pair of magnificent Makara bracelets.
And there ya have it.
That's it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark
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