"New Delhi, 14 july 2009. The second consecutive mishap at the same site on the under-construction Central Secratariat-Badarpur line of the Delhi Metro at jamrudpur here on monday came as little surprise to many of the residents, who said the area was jinxed.
The area residents said well before the work started on the stretch, an old banyan tree located near a temple was pulled down to widen the road and some portion of the temple was dismantled.
"The entire village used to worship the old tree. On several occasions, we requested the authorities not to touch the tree or the temple. But they did not listen to us", said Ravi Kumar, an area resident." (source: The Hindu Times)

India, 2009.
Deities and djinns are part of everyday life, as are superstition, belief in witchcraft and sjamanism, rituals, numerology and astrology, and reîncarnation.
Cows block the road and eat the fruits and vegetables of local vendors who do not dare to scare them away, as they are holy. Monkeys are an absolute nuisance to residents but instead of chasing them off (or finishing them off) they are fed, especially on thursdays, as that is Hanuman's day (Hanuman is the monkey god) and it brings good luck to feed them on that day. Every shop has it's little altar from where Ganesha figures watch over business...usually incense is burning from these altars, and the occasional picture of a deceased relative puts in some extra weight. The paper runs articles on embracing trees amidst economic news, and people fast on certain days to honour their god(s). Giving a party becomes a challenge when cooking, as there is always someone not eating something because it is monday/tuesday/wednesday etc. And of course the first customer of the day brings luck, one needs to consult an astrologer before entering into any important undertaking and going to the temple is part of any good housewife's practice (men seem to be less eager to pray, fast and do offerings).

India is often said to be a spiritual country...in my definition spirituality means a development of the self to a point where "self" looses its importance. In India, spiritual seems to mean that the "self" (which judging by the behaviour of many Indians is in their centre of the world) utilizes all means to shape that world in such a way that the self gets its maximum benefit from it. If that means feeding monkeys and fasting on tuesdays, so be it.

Incredible India 2009...the longer you live here, the more you see that puzzles you!
In the meantime I however have decided that I'll stick to my car for the time being....you see, I don't fast on tuesdays, I don't feed monkeys and I don't worship Banyan trees, and that is bound to be bad luck when riding the metro!