Beyond The Temple Walls, Part 4: Policing Duties
Posing or policing, a policeman’s lot is not a happy one:
There are times when I can be fooled into wondering if the sun has still not set on the British Empire…
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Picture taken outside the Kapaleeshwarer Temple in Chennai
Beyond The Temple Walls, Part 2: An Offering
A boy prepares temple offerings.
Devotees give fresh coconuts, fruits and flowers in lieu of sacrifice.
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Picture taken outside the Kapaleeshwarer Temple, Chennai
Temple Moments Part 5: The Wishing Tree
In the temple grounds grows a “tree of wishes”.
The threads tied around its boughs represent the prayers of women hoping to find happiness through marriage.
The miniature cot suspended from its branch is a plea to be blessed with a child.
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Picture taken in Kapaleeshwarer Temple, Chennai
The libretto to Dvořák’s Song to the Moon from Rusalka can be found here
Temple Moments Part 4: A Man Rejected
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Picture taken in Kapaleeshwarer Temple, Chennai
Temple Moments Part 3: Red Gold And Blue
An azure canopy bathes all beneath it in a still pool of aquamarine;
a temple devotee passes by..
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Picture taken in Kapaleeshwarer Temple, Chennai
Related post
Temple Moments Part 2: Dreams And Visions
An old man dreams temple dreams, while his young neighbour sees iPhone visions.
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Picture taken in Kapaleeshwarer Temple, Chennai
Related article
Looking Back..
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Picture taken in the Halebidu temple complex, Karnataka.
Marking Boundaries
“Our feet had stood within thy courts..”
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Picture of a Hindu temple’s boundary wall taken in Cochin.
Within The Temple Walls
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On entering Trichy’s Jambukeswarar Temple, much of the frantic commerce quietens.
Despite the milling devotees
And in-house retail outlets,
It retains a sense of peaceful piety.
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The temple is a complex brew of dreams, devotion and domestic activities.
But still manages to breathe the air of religious worship.
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The Temple Approach
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From breakfast in Thanjavur to the grand and ancient temple of Trichy.
The temple approach provides a thriving business enterprise zone.
All is for sale:
From kitchen utensils
To human hair, newly shorn from the faithful – an act of religious piety.
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Everyone appears to be involved
In either shopping,
Or fixing deals:
A heaving mass of bustling commerce which the children sit back and enjoy.
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Temple Tourists
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After a promenade in Pondicherry it was time to start the journey back towards India’s south-western coast.
Thanjavur was our overnight stop.
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A south Indian breakfast provides more than sufficient calories to fuel the rigours of temple tourism. But should hunger overwhelm the pilgrim, spiritual snacking is permitted.
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Among The Temple Ruins
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Hampi is such a vast archaeological complex that exploring it requires transport, a sense of purpose
And several bottles of water.
Otherwise even the hardiest tourist tends to wilt.
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The site consists of a truly remarkable array of beautiful temples and palace ruins, built between the 14th and 17th centuries.
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Sic transit gloria mundi..
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Temple Traders
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Finally we had arrived in Hampi,
The primary goal of our travels.
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Hampi is a city long deserted.
All that remains are the ancient stone temples and palaces: some remarkably intact; others in various degrees of dilapidation.
But the vast site provides excellent opportunities for those wishing to make money,
From both tourists and pilgrims.
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Family businesses
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And children’s market stalls:
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Young men
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And old men:
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All ply their trades
In an exotic world where religious piety and financial profit seem reluctant to part.
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Temple Twilight
“..your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams..”
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Our day began in Mysore.
Seductive mangos had waylaid us along the journey.
By lunchtime, Halebidu was being explored.
And now, at dusk, we were in another city and another temple.
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The Chennakesava temple of Belur was built by the same Hoysala kings who constructed the temples in Halebidu.
We arrived as the sun was starting to set.
The perfect time to sit peacefully and observe a temple, its artefacts and its people:
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Until finally we slipped away into the night.
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Temple Light
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Shafts of light pierced the massive walls of the two temples
Revealing colours in the stonework not apparent under the tropical sun’s glare.
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Thick temple walls kept the interiors cool and shaded.
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The Temples Of Stone
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Our mango-fed journey had brought us to Halebidu,
A name that means “Ruined City”
Nine hundred years ago, this was the capital of an ancient Dravidian kingdom which was twice laid waste by invaders.
But two stone temples still stand strong,
With their impressive relief sculptures largely intact.
Silent echoes of long-forgotten glories.
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Weighing One’s Options
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In Indian temples, one of the traditions of religious offerings involves weighing the giver.
Then donating the same weight in gifts.
This usually consists of food such as bananas, rice or other local commodities. But maharajahs would give their weight in precious gems, silver or gold.
Maybe it’s time for me to focus on my weight…
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Pictures taken at Nanjangud Temple, Karnataka.
The Temple On The Plains: Part 2
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We had experienced darshan.
Now the rest of the temple complex was to be explored.
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Along with its people:
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The Temple On The Plains
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We left the temple on the hill and crossed a small part of the massive Deccan Plateau.
Simon, our driver, had marked the 1,000 year old temple at Nanjangud as the next place to be explored.
Compared with Gopalswamy, this temple was vast and crowded.
Having entered the complex, we joined a tightly packed queue to enter the heart of the building. The line’s great length was concealed by its snaking around countless corners and through a maze of columned passages.
It was a little like queueing for a popular ride at Disney World.
But without the benefits of skilled crowd-management.
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Finally, our destination was revealed.
We were to receive darshan.
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A Visit To The Hill-Top Temple
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From the wilds of Wayanad and the elephants of Tamil Nadu, we crossed into Karnataka.
Our first stop was at the Himavad Gopalswamy Betta Temple.
Built almost 700 years ago at the summit of a quiet and lonely hill, it is often hidden by mist. But we had arrived in brilliant sunshine.
Despite, or perhaps because of the presence of many devotees, there was a palpable sense of quiet and prayer.
Having received the blessing of the temple priest in the inner sanctum, we walked around the temple then made our way back down the steep and narrow track.
On this road, a pilgrim bus had jammed the rear corner of its chassis while taking a sharp hair-pin bend.
With minimal fuss, the passengers disembarked while the bus was re-manoeuvred into a drivable position, then quietly returned to their transport. There was neither shouting nor horn-tooting from drivers blocked by the stationary vehicle.
Something of a rarity in India.
Perhaps the calm and peace of the temple was more pervasive than I had realised…
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The Temple At Twilight
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In central and southern Kerala, non-Hindus are not allowed to enter Hindu temples.
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But we can glimpse their exotic beauty from the temple gates.
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Neither Use Nor Ornament 