ABSTRACT
While living in the bustling city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India many years ago on a research sabbatical, I used to ride the bus daily between my centrally located research site and my rental apartment in a northern suburb. This was an air-conditioned bus, a slower but more comfortable commute than the notoriously packed commuter train cars of Mumbai, and the white-collar passengers who could afford the bus ticket sat in comfort, and peacefully read the newspaper, catnapped, or chatted quietly with their neighboring passengers as we trekked across the congested city. At the Irla stop, the bus stand was located right next to a small street shrine dedicated to Shirdi Sai Baba (see Image 14.1). Seated within the bus, I could gaze through the tinted windows directly into the shrine, taking in its small statue, called a murti, and its various posters of the god-man.
