Here are some pictures from my great time touring Southern India this weekend. Much gratitude to Pramod and Rhagavendra, two gentlemen on my team, for making the weekend so great. All told I visited two palaces and five temples – each to a different god. I learned a lot about India, her cultures, and the Hindu religions.
Inside the ancient temple of Vishnu. Walking around this giant stone temple with columns carved from a single piece of stone was awe inspiring. Very grounding. This is outside the actual temple, which is an inner sanctum deep inside this large chamber. Photos are not allowed inside the main temple.
Here is me, Pramod (left), and Rhagavendra (right) enjoying coconuts outside Sultan Tipu’s summer palace.
Next was an ancient temple devoted to Shiva. Shiva is the destroyer, and also the dancing God. I so appreciate the image of a dancing destroyer. Here is the main gate tower from the inside:
Then up the Cherimundi Hills outside of Mysore and to a temple devoted to Durga. Here is a wall Ganesha sculpture above the main gate on the outside. Ganesha removes obstacles, and is frequently seen first among Gods, to clear the way for their influence:
We caught sunset over Mysore as we came down the Cherimundi Hills. Gorgeous, as you can see:
By the time we made it to the Mysore Palace, we had to wait just a little while for the five minutes they light it up at night:
On Sunday, I had the pleasure of joining Pramod, his wife Rani, and his son Niketh, on some temple visits in Bangalore. Here is the view of Bangalore as we are leaving the Kirshna temple (of “Hare Krisha” fame).
And here is me, Pramod, Randi, and Niketh at the end of the evening inside a new mall in Bangalore:
Another week of work in Bangalore coming up, including a cricket match on Tuesday. Then, off to see my friend Abdul Salam in Pune next weekend, before heading home to the US.
