Interviewing a Goddess

Work today = awesome.
Yesterday, I mentioned my assignment for today -- interviewing a goddess. The little girl pictured above is one of a handful of little girls in Nepal who are worshipped by Hindus. They call them kumaris -- living goddesses -- and the Hindus believe they heal people, reveal prophecy, etc.

This was the first time a kumari was to visit the U.S., and it's because D.C. is hosting a documentary film festival this weekend called Silverdocs. One of the documentaries is about the lives of the kumaris.

So early this morning, a courier dropped off the film at my office, and I watched as much as I could before our 10:45 interview. I hailed a cab and showed up at this super-fancy Hyatt -- the kind where they pay guys to open the doors for guests -- and knocked on the goddess' door.

When one of the filmmakers answered the door, he told me I'd have to wait a few minutes, because the goddess was in the middle of an interview... with the New York Times!

So instead, I interviewed the director, a British woman who was really intelligent and interesting. We exchanged cards. I had to give her my Eaglevision business card, so I felt rather ridiculous, but hey, she's a Brit and she probably couldn't tell Eaglevision is a low-budget campus newscast. I hope she doesn't visit the website.

Interviewing the goddess herself, via her translator, was as good as interviewing a spoiled 8-year-old could be. She was an absolutely normal little girl, and every time she talked, her translator treated it like it was divine revelation.

All in all, it was an insightful visit, but sad at the same time. These Nepalese are utterly convinced that this oblivious little girl is an incarnate deity. I hope someday they realized that no divine being will have that short an attention span.

That article will be running who-knows-where on Friday

Okay, off to a long lecture now. This schedule is killer.