Had Tingo been playing around on the office computer or what! When we were discussing the May promotions on Bingolore.com and relating our experiences of dancing around the Maypole when we were at school, we noticed he was getting a bit hot under the collar!
Next thing we knew he was asking for the petty cash tin. Of course we asked him what he wanted it for as Tigers don’t really need money on a day-to-day basis. Part of Tingo’s employment contract is to keep him fed and watered according to his strict dietary needs as outlined by his erstwhile keeper who retired to his country estate in the cool northern hills of Darjeeling when Tingo was let go by his previous company – something about a shortage of Tiger shoots I think it was, but in any event Tingo was hugely appreciative to be fired rather than fired at!
Anyway, turns out Tingo thought we were discussing pole dancing – which I suppose we were in a way but our chats were based on the maypole not poletricks101 which is a rather interesting search engine masquerading as a pole dancing site and, although there is a pole dancing video advertised, don’t bother unless you have Quicktime.
So, Tingo wanted to go out and get a trim and a pedicure, have his whiskers waxed and his fur conditioned as he was convinced he was about to visit his first pole dancing club on the spring bank holiday Monday.
We sat Tingo down to explain the facts; the May Dance of olden days was held on the last day of April and the first of May to celebrate the Feast of Flora, the goddess of flowers. Also seen as a rite of spring, girls entering womanhood participated in the making of a Maypole to which were fixed different coloured ribbons, crowned by a garland of May blossom. As the girls danced around the pole, they would weave in and out of the ribbons making patterns of them.
“Huh,” remarked Tingo on hearing this; “I think this is another Indian tradition actually!”
“What?” we cried? “Yes,” he replied. “It’s the enfantine of Mysore!” “The what of what?” we asked.
Turns out there is an Indian dance very similar to our old maypole mayhem! It works as follows: A ring is fixed to a ceiling on which are eight different coloured cords. Four small girls and boys hold the ends of these cords. The music begins and the eight children start to dance, moving so that they twist the cords together combining all the colours.
“It’s very graceful,” said Tingo, admiring his newly trimmed nails. “And it’s from India.”
“Yes,” we said; “you said. Thank you for the information. What have you got up your sleeve for next month?”
“I’ll let you know,” he said nonchalantly as he hit the back button on the computer closing it down for the night.
