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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.
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And there ya have it. That's it for this week folks. Catch you all next week. Benjamin Mark
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