Good Morning
Picture taken from the seminary chapel’s steps at 6:50 in the morning.
Fort Cochin.
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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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A River Runs Through It
“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow”
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Hampi sits alongside a river used for ritual bathing
And the washing of sacred artefacts.
The expression of a very human desire:
Release from the taint of corruption.
An aspiration which transcends all religious traditions.
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The Chamundi Hills
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High in the hills sits the Chamundeshwari Temple, dedicated to the Parvati, consort of Lord Siva.
It is Mysore’s most important temple.
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The place was bustling with devotees.
Having experienced the long queues of Nanjangud, we opted to pay a higher entrance fee.
This fast-tracked our transit through to heart of the temple:
The business class option for spiritual tourists.
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By now we were seasoned temple travellers.
But receiving darshan without first waiting in long, slow-moving queues somehow detracted from the experience.
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The women selling temple offerings
And a religious procession
Dazzled us with their beautiful colours.
But often it’s the small things which capture our focus.
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Preparing for a Feast: Profane
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Preparations for the feast of St Joseph also involve food:
Quite a lot of food.
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Vegetarian curries and rice will be prepared in almost industrial quantities
To feed people of all faiths and denominations.
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Neither Use Nor Ornament 