21st March, 20XX

Dear Diary,

Today I feel pleasure to note down my experience of the visit to Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu with Vikram Seth. The visit was indeed exciting for me, though there was an atmosphere of ‘febrile confusion’ at Pashupatinath Temple. I saw crowds of priests, hawkers, devotees, tourists at the temple. We offered some flowers to God. Inside the temple, I saw a large number of worshippers trying to get the priest’s attention and some of them were elbowed aside by others who were pushing their way to the front. Outside the temple, I saw a party of saffron- clad westerners struggle for permission to enter the temple. The policeman did not allow them to enter the temple because they were not Hindus. There is no doubt that the place is worth visiting. We feel aesthetic satisfaction by visiting such religious place.

Priyanshu