There are many facets of Lord Krishna's personality, as depicted in Mahabharata epic and other texts. Besides being a man of action, he was a divine lover. With his striking countenance in the visual arts and omnipresence in music and literature be could not go unnoticed, unmentioned in the everyday life of a vast number of people.
As a great lover he is depicted with open frankness and sensual charm by the artists. All the cowherd damsels of Braja (now known as Vrindavan), and the slender-waisted Radha, fall distractedly in love with him. He rouses their ire, and their longings; with his playful pranks and fulfils those longings; he torments them with the melodies of this flute, loving them all. He is in turn defended, protected and embraced by the beauties. If he teases his beloved at times, he is also suppliant in love, for he pays homage at the feet of the beloved touching them, gently massaging them, painting them with lacquer and placing his head on them. He accepts his shortcomings with humility and equanimity when he is berated and reprimanded in no uncertain terms by the beloved, for being treacherous and deceitful.
There is this strange simplicity in his character, of the supreme being who appears in the mortal world to conquer all evil and annihilate the evildoers, engaged in dalliance and being chastened by her for frivolous reasons which are more often than not, imaginary. This very quality, this fallibility makes Krishna adorable in the eyes of the milkmaids, and popular with the masses whose lives are touched by the romance of his deeds. His amorous games can be classified into two broad categories, love of the individual as depicted through his affair with Radha and second, his flirtation and frolicking with the milkmaids in a group, teasing them into submission.
Towards that end, Krishna employees all the guiles of a wily lover. Just as no one can resist his splendid appearance, nobody can be impassive to the summons of his flute.
- India Perspective
Paper Tony and Eton Boys romance with Nepali mountain village
By A Staff Reporter
Tony Freak is an Englishman from North London. While trekking in the Upper Khumbu in 1988 his Sherpas persuaded him to return from Gokyo to Namche Bazar along the eastern side of the valley which took him through their village. Phortse lies in an idyllic setting, a south facing terrace high on the mountainside at the unction of the rivers Dudh Koshi and the Imja Khola draining from Sagarmatha (Mount Everest).
Tony quickly recognised that Phortse had few of the facilities enjoyed by neighbouring communities. The village school was in a poor state of repair and there was no proper accommodation for the teachers. on has return to England be appear for help. Within two years the school was repaired, re-roofed and painted, and a brand new teachers' hostel had been built Tony had raises the money, designed the hostel, obtained permission from the authorities, surveyed the building and ordered all the materials from local sources and from Kathmandu, and, finally arranged for everything to be carried to the village for the master builder to construct the new building.
In 1993 some staff a Eton College started to plan a trekking expedition to Nepal. John Vessey, the master in charge, approached Steve Webster of Mountain Travel asking whether he knew of a community scheme with which ht school could become involved. Thus Tony and John were put in touch with each other, and joint operations began. It was at about this time that a tragic accident occurred at the school in which a senior boy died. Gordon Daniel would have been a member of the expedition, so a decision was taken to set about raising money to create a lasting memorial to Gordon in Nepal.
Since 1994 Tony and Eton have combined to provide a medical clinic and a gompa for the people of Phortse, meanwhile tony has been adopted on an honorary member of the village-they call him Papa Tony. The clinic was built in 1994 and Eton boys spent a week in August helping to put the finishing touches.
However, the outstanding achievement of this co-operation has been the building of the new Phortse gompa. constructed of stone and timber this large two-story structure stands high above the village in a commanding position looking down te entire length of the Khumbu valley to the plains below.
the villagers have worked hard through 1995-6 clearing the huge area covered by the foundations They have quarried and carried the stone to the site, and some were involved in transporting the timber from sawmills outside the National Park. Large quantises of building materials had to be flown in by helicopter. Pasang Lama Sherpa, is the master builder directing the day-to-day construction. Tony, with some of his friends, and second group of Eton boys have been helping during the summer to bring this major project to completion. The crowing glory arrived when on August 31st, a propitious day, the Abbot Rinpoche Tengboche came to Phortse to bless the Gompa. there was s tumult of rejoicing and celebrations which Gordon Daniel's family, John Vessey and a roup of Eton Masters, their wives and friends were able to witness after trekking to the village for the opening ceremonies.
All that remains to be done tis to decorate and furnish the Gompa, and to construct a monk's living quarters with kitchen and latrine. The former will be a responsibility falling on the villagers. The latter will continue to exercise both Papa Tony, who has already designed the building, and Eton College which will help to pay it.
The boys finally left Phortse and continued their trek with a
group of Sherpas employed by Mountain Travel, Nepal. They entered
Tibet and approached Sagarmatha (Mount Everest) from the north.
Where they all achieved an altitude of just over 20,000 feet.