Goat meat and Ashtami

Durga Puja always puts me on a Time Machine, propelling me back to childhood days and certain related events. Once I brought some PRASAD (offering to deities) from Lord Jagannath temple, Puri, for the priest at my local temple here. The priest, a Brahmin from Gujarat, was very pleased with what I got for him from Jagannath DHAM (religious abode). We sat down chatting, as he asked me about my trip. I told him how much I cherish the fish and goat meat curry in Odisha. He was appalled and could not believe a Brahmin in me being a voracious eater of fish and a four legged animal like Goat. He asked me "AAP KAISE EK JEEV KO KHA SAKTE HAIN" ..how could you eat an animal ? I had no answer, but narrated him about my childhood days when we used to visit religiously our ancestral village near Puri, during the Durga Puja. The most awaited event would be ASHTAMI (8th day), for the annual ritual of goat sacrifice. On that fateful day villagers would walk in droves to catch a glimpse of BODA HANA (Goat slaughter). The sacrificial BODA (a non-castrated male goat with goatee and smelling horrible) would be brought and tied to a post. The priest would arrive chanting MANTRAS (hymns) amidst the cacophony of the beating of GHANTA ( large brass circular plates). A strongly built DHOBA (washer man) with twitched Walrus moustache would arrive on the scene, wiping off layers of sweat from his forehead. He would unleash a sharp sword, glittering under the morning sun and with one massive blow detach the head of the goat from its body. The goat's torso would meander a couple of feet before collapsing, with its still eyes still gaping at the crowd. The priest would collect its blood and offer it to the Goddess. Later it would be skinned and its meat divided equally among the villagers as PRASAD. This whose episode wasn't free from its aftershocks. For the next few days all that glittered wasn't gold, it was that unforgettable sword slashing through the goat's neck. I had nightmares of the goat torso chasing me, the detached head hovering over, with its eyes still open, staring at me. As it approaches, I try to outrun him, but still unable to move as the apparition closes on me. I would get up in a flash, sweating. My sister sacrificed meat eating after watching one such goat sacrifice on ASHTAMI. The same aftershock came back to the future, as the priest from Gujarat who was patiently hearing my narration almost fainted. He could not digest this scene happening in a Brahmin village where his counterparts had no issues digesting the scene and meat. I can vouch he was glad that I did not bring any PRASAD from my village.