India, May 17 -- Dear Reader,

It's early morning in the forest and I feel a tap on my arm.

All around and above me are ancient deodar cedar trees, their sap-green, needle-covered branches rising a hundred feet into a clear blue sky. Below me, the cool grey stones of the temple courtyard. Sounds surround me: the high clear tones of the conch, the rhythmic beats of the drums, the clang of the temple bells. The smell of incense fills the air.

Today is the Goddess's birthday, and I am excited to join the celebrations. I have reached early and Hadimba's musicians are still laying out their instruments: the dhaunsi, the dhol, the nagara drums, the long curved narsingha and ransingha trumpets, and the shankh.

A mother and her two school-goin...