But they were all blind. You know? THey couldn't see. THey lived here in the mountains and they were blind'. I imagined what that must have been like, living in a steep forested hillside that must get bitterly cold in winter.
'One day, their son decided to take his parents to the lake. To wash their eyes. So they set off.
'But there was a Hunter nearby. Lord Ram, you know, Lord ram?' I knew he was a deity in the Hindu religion and had heard a few stories about him.
'Well he was out hunting. And he heard the slow ponderous rustle of something in the woods'. Deepak demonstrated a slow shuffle through the leaves.
'That is not a beast that I have heard before. It is too slow for humans, too light for cattle, too noisy for monkeys. I must get this animal!
'So he let fly with his arrow, and it pierced first the father, then the mother, then the son, killing them dead instantly.
'When he found them, Lord Ram was overcome with remorse. He had killed three innocent people, whose lives were already hard enough. His tears collected by the path, and a lake appeared.
'This why people come here now, It is holy because of the family that died. The festival are for people whose parents have been dead a year. Yes, an anniversary. The children come here to pray, for good karma for their parents rebirth'.
'What happened to the family?" I asked.
Just then we came up over a small rise. Before us were three water buffalos, and below them the path eld down to the lake.
They eyed is warily for a second, and then as one, turned tale and bolted into the trees.
'I bet I know what happened next', I said excitedly.' I bet Lord Ram turned them into Water Buffalow, that could see, and were afraid of humans, so they would never be shot again'.
Deepak smiled at me and said 'Maybe.'
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