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In January of 1992, I spent three weeks in Belgaum, India, in a UNDP-sponsored consulting assignment with the
Hard Rock Regional Centre of the (Indian) National Institute of Hydrology. My job was to train the centre's scientists
on catchment hydrology. My visit led to the publication, in 1995, of two papers on catchment water balance.1, 2
One evening after work, one of the scientists invited me to dinner at a local restaurant.
As we walked to the restaurant, my companion remembered that he had to do his daily prayers,
and asked me to join him at a local temple, promising that it would be quick.
I thought it was going to be a different experience for me, so I agreed.
After witnessing an hour of chanting coupled with other religious rituals, the ceremony finally finished and we headed for the restaurant.
Trying to be polite, I asked my companion how he remembered the chants for such a long time?
He answered, calmly: "It is easy. Every three minutes we repeated the same chant."
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