Wedding, Farming and a Prayer Service

We left the hotel and headed for a 5 ½ hour ride towards the South of India. It gets warmer and more humid. Even though our van in air-conditioned when we stop and look at temples we are drenched.

The ride is amazing. We go through what seems like hundreds of villages. The road which is the chief north-south road is only 2 lanes. There are a lot of busses, trucks, tractors and ox-carts competing with people walking, biking and harvesting hay, rice and sugarcane. The road can only be called semi-controlled chaos. The rule is: come as close to someone as possible and honk and try to pass them. Yesterday we saw one motorcycle accident. Today we saw a large tourist buss that slid off the road. To add to the transportation excitement, there were incredibly strong downpours. We all felt we were in a monsoon; our Indian guide laughed and said a monsoon lasts for days on end.

Our first stop was at a temple where a Hindu Wedding was going on. We observed the bride and groom in all of their ornamental gold. They appeared glad to have us there.

We went on to several more temples with our guide discussing more about Hinduism, mythology, arranged marriages, mother’s in law and daughter’s in law.

We then arrived at very large Hindu Temple Complex. The Temples are arranged in a series of inner courtyards. Cows and beggars are there. To Western eyes it is not clean. You have to remove your shoes before entering and everyone is walking barefoot. We eventually got to the center of the complex where there was a large crowd jammed in on steps facing a wall with wooden doors that were closed. A small Indian band was playing loud cacophonous music. The priests of the temple are all Brahman’s. They are the only caste that can be priests. The priests wear no shirts, just a wrap around their waist. All Brahman men wear a white string that goes across their shoulder and down their back. All of a sudden all Hell breaks loose. Bells are ringing everywhere including a very large one nearby. The priests and everyone are sweating from the high heat and being jammed together. The music and bells are reaching a fever pitch. In front of us the inner sanctum doors are all opened at once and you are looking in at the priests performing their sacred rites. Much of Hinduism is based upon fire and they are saying Pugas (Prayers) while circling candelabra like fires. The crowd goes ecstatic pushing and shoving. We wonder if we are about to be trampled as we are pressed in all directions. The music and bells continue. We are drenched with sweat and pressed against the young and the old. The prayers end and we shimmy our way out. Wow! No pictures of all of this. There are signs everywhere if you take pictures your camera will be confiscated. I think they are serious!

More driving South, more heat, more temples, more village’s endless people. We drive by an amazing looking temple soaring into the sky, and we are told that will be our first visit tomorrow. We drove way off the beaten pay and went to a tiny foundry where they make brass pieces. A buying opportunity presented itself. We then drove to our hotel to check in.. We go for a walk and are the only white people we see. It is like being in a foreign land, (hey we are!). We catch up with our tour leader and the three of us go to a vegetarian restaurant filled with Hindus and Moslems. No wine! However the bill for the three of us was 65 rupees or about $1.50 total! Head back to the hotel awaiting tomorrow’s adventure.