We were so tired, but we dragged ourselves out of bed at 3am and got ready for our winding trip up the mountain to the hilltop pilgrimage temple of Tirumala. This is one drive I wouldn't want to drive myself! Very winding, with lots of switchbacks as you make your way to the top. (At least the road is very well maintained!) At all the temples we've been at here, there are no cameras, cell phones or shoes inside. You leave all of those things in your car or with guards. I think this pic is actually from near where we parked, looking back on the the temple complex after we'd been through it. It's not the main temple though, which is quite a ways into the complex, and completely encrusted in gold. One can also walk the 7 hills to get to the temple, but this takes 3-5 hours and, darn, we didn't have time to do that, so had to endure the car ride. ;-) g We arrived in the dark. Pilgrims purchase timed tickets. There's a huge queue that you go through, with holding areas with fans, blankets, benches. Groups stay in these holding areas until their appointed time. It's quite a walk and you go through security several times. People are given food free of charge while they wait. We were told that this was the only time to go when there would be perhaps less than 5000 people there. It sounds like an average day is 50,000-100,000 people and it goes up from there. This was quite busy enough for me as we still stood in line for about an hour and it was a lot of walking on stone in bare feet. My knee was most unhappy and I was trying to be so cognizant of my metatarsal, which I had injured in Rome on a cobblestone. We were pretty much the only pasty white folks there, so I wasn't terribly surprised when a group of excited people behind us started pointing and whispering. I was thinking, "Yes white people. One is short and fat. The other is really tall! Tada!" Then I realized that what I was hearing wasn't completely in an Indian language. They thought I was Salma Hayek. Yes. Pasty, fat, auburn du jour, non-Mexican ME. I almost couldn't contain my laughter. I couldn't quite get to Dan to tell him and I didn't think the two gentlemen who accompanied us would get it. (Thank goodness for them, though! The temple complex is huge and difficult to navigate.) And don't worry. I won't let it go to my head. I figured it was one more Hindu deity playing a joke on me. They tend to do that, though usually in dreams. g The line is never ending, but almost always moved. Apparently it can take over 24 hours, and generally 5-8 hours before you get to see the resident God, Venkateshwara, a form of Lord Vishnu. (If you want more info on this deity: http://www.dalsabzi.com/articles/balaji_sri_venkateswara.htm - this was the shortest version of the story I could find!) You pass through many areas before you get to the main temple. Most of the walls are granite and carved with Sanskrit. There's a lot of incense in the air, and sweat, though we were lucky to only have a few moments of that as the early morning air was less hot and humid than it would be in a few hours. I think some of the incense-y smell was possibly insect repellent coils that are very popular in India. People come from all over India to be at this temple. This is also a place where people undergo what I like to call spiritual shearing, shaving their head as an offering to the temple. In the Hindu tradition, this give direct access to the crown chakra, where divine energy enters one's body. It's also said that this is a way to strip away vanity and ego, which impedes communion with the divine. (The temple sells the hair to the cosmetic/wig industry and there's such volume that it makes India the number one exporter of hair.) Occasionally, someone would start a change of, "Goooooooooooovinda!" and it would echo down the line. This made me giggle a little bit as it reminded me of a little Valley Girl cheerleader thing a friend and I used to do in high school. Goooooooo Warriors! Terrible, when people are gearing up for a holy experience and chanting a name of God, but hey, the gods are always laughing at me... g After standing in line for about an hour or so, we finally approached the door way to the main temple. The whole outer area and the tall, intricately carved roof is also covered in gold. I'm not talking chintzy gold. This is heavy, heavy duty gold! There are large, Bactrian-style angels on the corners of the roof. They were slightly more angular than other carvings I saw. I couldn't get a definite reading on who they were though. The energy was definitely more intense inside the darkened inner sanctum. The air was thicker here, and warmer. Incense hung like a screen, making everything quite hazy. You could hear chanting, both from pujaris (priests) and from pilgrims. As Lord Venkateshwara is draped in gold and jewels - diamonds in particular, the path to viewing the murti is lined with guards who hurry you along so you don't dawdle and hold up the line. Literally, if you can't see over people's heads, you might get a 5 second darshan (sacred visit) with the Lord! Of course, you'd think that people would think about not pushing on this little trail, but they do. This only makes the darshan faster, and it doesn't help that the guards are also pushing you along. I suggest heading to the side opposite the guards or somewhere in the middle of the crowd, if at all possible. ;-) I didn't have any amazing epiphanies during my darshan with Lord Venkateshwara, but I will say that I felt heard and I had a huge list of prayers that I carried with me! I hope you all felt the blessings. :-) g You exit around the outside of the temple. People were praying all around it. The back wall of the temple is granite and the deity is on the other side of it, so there were people touching it and praying. It reminded me of every image I'd ever seen of the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, except there were women there too. On the way out, we stopped at a shrine to Venkateshwara's mother and received a blessing from a pujari (priest). We also received laddu as prasad (food that has been blessed by the deity of the temple). This is a special kind of prasad, particular to this temple. It's got coconut, nuts, raw sugar, sultanas, cardomom and some sort of flour to hold it together. Very tasty! I'm hoping that we'll be able to get the two prasads through customs, so we can share. g As we made our way out of the complex, we came upon one thing I'd been hoping to see - TEMPLE ELEPHANT! This is a really cushy job for elephants as they are very pampered and revered. This one looked to be a female teenager, and a little smaller sized. She was very painted and decorated. And she was giving blessings! Joy! Of course, her mahout (keeper/trainer - and for life) sees the white girl and the seas of children and people part. As I walk up, he quotes me an outrageous number for the blessing. I don't have my purse or anything and I walked away very embarrassed. One of the gentlemen with us asked me why I didn't get the blessing and I said my purse was in the car and he wanted a big amount. He walked me back down to them, handed me a bill in front of the guy and suddenly, I got the local rate! So, you hold your hand out with the bill and the elephant gently takes the bill with her trunk. Who knew that the little end is so agile? She gives the bill to the mahout and then you bow/namaste and she sort of bonks you on the the head. It was so sweet! Of course, our companions were completely laughing at me. I wanted to stay and commune just a little more, but the kids filled in and the mahout was done with me because he'd had to give me the local rate. ;-) Honestly though, the energy of this elephant was so sweet and loving. She seemed so happy and happy with the crowd of kids. My biggest regret is that I have no picture of her, because she was so gorgeous. One big thing checked off my bucket list! g On the way down the mountain, we stopped and did a tiny bit of shopping. I would have loved to have had a tiny bit of time to look around. There was really some amazing stuff there. I did buy some sacred cords, though I'm still trying to find out more about them. They look a lot like a string mala that was given to me as a healing piece. These were in black, orange or red. I got some of each. May as well cover my bases, eh? ;-) g So, we dashed down the mountain to make it in time for the marriage ceremony for Pavan and Sujana back at the hall. The stage had been re-draped with flower strands and festoons. There was a different band this morning and there was something going on as we entered, but we were ushered in to eat breakfast first. As in other cuisines, breakfast was my favorite meal. Poori and channa masala (garlicky chickpeas in a semi spicy gravy - and this was the best I've tasted yet!) - also sambar and idly (steamed rice cakes), coconut chutney. Meals in Southern India are all followed up with curd rice, that is steamed rice and yogurt. It's a palate cleanser and cools the chili burn. We were just finishing up and one of Pavan's relatives came to tell us that the marriage ceremony was in 5 min. We quickly washed our hands and followed him into the hall. We were looking for seats and he motioned for us to keep coming with him...up on the stage with the wedding party! We had front row seats! Dan and I were very touched and honored to have been invited to be with the family on this special occasion. Pavan was clearly pleased with our reaction. g Much of the marriage ceremony seems based on the bride being cared for and fertility. There was some washing with either milk or water, I couldn't tell. Pavan tied a red cord with a gold charm around Sujana's neck. There was filling each others hands with turmeric rice, the with coconuts and fruit and leaves. There was chanting and prayers. There was a time when the crowd around the stage threw turmeric rice at them couple, wishing them happiness. (We think that this is the origin of throwing rice at weddings, appropriated by the British.) The couple had these massive rose petal flower garlands on and they traded them. Then the couple showered each other with rice. Repeatedly. A lot of rice! A few more prayers and the ceremony was over. Family poured rice on them. Friends filed up and threw rice on them. Pavan's niece, who was maybe 2 or so, kept running up and throwing rice at them, which was adorable. After a bit of cleaning up, the couple were in their holding court positions and people came up and gave them gifts, good wishes and their blessing. It was very sweet. Pavan had a lovely group of friends in town who had all worked together at one time, but now all live in different cities. We chatted more with them. Took more pix. Then Pavan's father asked us if we'd like to tour the local temples, as one of his friends had offered to take us....
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Tirumala, Marriage and Temples, oh my!
We were so tired, but we dragged ourselves out of bed at 3am and got ready for our winding trip up the mountain to the hilltop pilgrimage temple of Tirumala. This is one drive I wouldn't want to drive myself! Very winding, with lots of switchbacks as you make your way to the top. (At least the road is very well maintained!) At all the temples we've been at here, there are no cameras, cell phones or shoes inside. You leave all of those things in your car or with guards. I think this pic is actually from near where we parked, looking back on the the temple complex after we'd been through it. It's not the main temple though, which is quite a ways into the complex, and completely encrusted in gold. One can also walk the 7 hills to get to the temple, but this takes 3-5 hours and, darn, we didn't have time to do that, so had to endure the car ride. ;-) g We arrived in the dark. Pilgrims purchase timed tickets. There's a huge queue that you go through, with holding areas with fans, blankets, benches. Groups stay in these holding areas until their appointed time. It's quite a walk and you go through security several times. People are given food free of charge while they wait. We were told that this was the only time to go when there would be perhaps less than 5000 people there. It sounds like an average day is 50,000-100,000 people and it goes up from there. This was quite busy enough for me as we still stood in line for about an hour and it was a lot of walking on stone in bare feet. My knee was most unhappy and I was trying to be so cognizant of my metatarsal, which I had injured in Rome on a cobblestone. We were pretty much the only pasty white folks there, so I wasn't terribly surprised when a group of excited people behind us started pointing and whispering. I was thinking, "Yes white people. One is short and fat. The other is really tall! Tada!" Then I realized that what I was hearing wasn't completely in an Indian language. They thought I was Salma Hayek. Yes. Pasty, fat, auburn du jour, non-Mexican ME. I almost couldn't contain my laughter. I couldn't quite get to Dan to tell him and I didn't think the two gentlemen who accompanied us would get it. (Thank goodness for them, though! The temple complex is huge and difficult to navigate.) And don't worry. I won't let it go to my head. I figured it was one more Hindu deity playing a joke on me. They tend to do that, though usually in dreams. g The line is never ending, but almost always moved. Apparently it can take over 24 hours, and generally 5-8 hours before you get to see the resident God, Venkateshwara, a form of Lord Vishnu. (If you want more info on this deity: http://www.dalsabzi.com/articles/balaji_sri_venkateswara.htm - this was the shortest version of the story I could find!) You pass through many areas before you get to the main temple. Most of the walls are granite and carved with Sanskrit. There's a lot of incense in the air, and sweat, though we were lucky to only have a few moments of that as the early morning air was less hot and humid than it would be in a few hours. I think some of the incense-y smell was possibly insect repellent coils that are very popular in India. People come from all over India to be at this temple. This is also a place where people undergo what I like to call spiritual shearing, shaving their head as an offering to the temple. In the Hindu tradition, this give direct access to the crown chakra, where divine energy enters one's body. It's also said that this is a way to strip away vanity and ego, which impedes communion with the divine. (The temple sells the hair to the cosmetic/wig industry and there's such volume that it makes India the number one exporter of hair.) Occasionally, someone would start a change of, "Goooooooooooovinda!" and it would echo down the line. This made me giggle a little bit as it reminded me of a little Valley Girl cheerleader thing a friend and I used to do in high school. Goooooooo Warriors! Terrible, when people are gearing up for a holy experience and chanting a name of God, but hey, the gods are always laughing at me... g After standing in line for about an hour or so, we finally approached the door way to the main temple. The whole outer area and the tall, intricately carved roof is also covered in gold. I'm not talking chintzy gold. This is heavy, heavy duty gold! There are large, Bactrian-style angels on the corners of the roof. They were slightly more angular than other carvings I saw. I couldn't get a definite reading on who they were though. The energy was definitely more intense inside the darkened inner sanctum. The air was thicker here, and warmer. Incense hung like a screen, making everything quite hazy. You could hear chanting, both from pujaris (priests) and from pilgrims. As Lord Venkateshwara is draped in gold and jewels - diamonds in particular, the path to viewing the murti is lined with guards who hurry you along so you don't dawdle and hold up the line. Literally, if you can't see over people's heads, you might get a 5 second darshan (sacred visit) with the Lord! Of course, you'd think that people would think about not pushing on this little trail, but they do. This only makes the darshan faster, and it doesn't help that the guards are also pushing you along. I suggest heading to the side opposite the guards or somewhere in the middle of the crowd, if at all possible. ;-) I didn't have any amazing epiphanies during my darshan with Lord Venkateshwara, but I will say that I felt heard and I had a huge list of prayers that I carried with me! I hope you all felt the blessings. :-) g You exit around the outside of the temple. People were praying all around it. The back wall of the temple is granite and the deity is on the other side of it, so there were people touching it and praying. It reminded me of every image I'd ever seen of the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, except there were women there too. On the way out, we stopped at a shrine to Venkateshwara's mother and received a blessing from a pujari (priest). We also received laddu as prasad (food that has been blessed by the deity of the temple). This is a special kind of prasad, particular to this temple. It's got coconut, nuts, raw sugar, sultanas, cardomom and some sort of flour to hold it together. Very tasty! I'm hoping that we'll be able to get the two prasads through customs, so we can share. g As we made our way out of the complex, we came upon one thing I'd been hoping to see - TEMPLE ELEPHANT! This is a really cushy job for elephants as they are very pampered and revered. This one looked to be a female teenager, and a little smaller sized. She was very painted and decorated. And she was giving blessings! Joy! Of course, her mahout (keeper/trainer - and for life) sees the white girl and the seas of children and people part. As I walk up, he quotes me an outrageous number for the blessing. I don't have my purse or anything and I walked away very embarrassed. One of the gentlemen with us asked me why I didn't get the blessing and I said my purse was in the car and he wanted a big amount. He walked me back down to them, handed me a bill in front of the guy and suddenly, I got the local rate! So, you hold your hand out with the bill and the elephant gently takes the bill with her trunk. Who knew that the little end is so agile? She gives the bill to the mahout and then you bow/namaste and she sort of bonks you on the the head. It was so sweet! Of course, our companions were completely laughing at me. I wanted to stay and commune just a little more, but the kids filled in and the mahout was done with me because he'd had to give me the local rate. ;-) Honestly though, the energy of this elephant was so sweet and loving. She seemed so happy and happy with the crowd of kids. My biggest regret is that I have no picture of her, because she was so gorgeous. One big thing checked off my bucket list! g On the way down the mountain, we stopped and did a tiny bit of shopping. I would have loved to have had a tiny bit of time to look around. There was really some amazing stuff there. I did buy some sacred cords, though I'm still trying to find out more about them. They look a lot like a string mala that was given to me as a healing piece. These were in black, orange or red. I got some of each. May as well cover my bases, eh? ;-) g So, we dashed down the mountain to make it in time for the marriage ceremony for Pavan and Sujana back at the hall. The stage had been re-draped with flower strands and festoons. There was a different band this morning and there was something going on as we entered, but we were ushered in to eat breakfast first. As in other cuisines, breakfast was my favorite meal. Poori and channa masala (garlicky chickpeas in a semi spicy gravy - and this was the best I've tasted yet!) - also sambar and idly (steamed rice cakes), coconut chutney. Meals in Southern India are all followed up with curd rice, that is steamed rice and yogurt. It's a palate cleanser and cools the chili burn. We were just finishing up and one of Pavan's relatives came to tell us that the marriage ceremony was in 5 min. We quickly washed our hands and followed him into the hall. We were looking for seats and he motioned for us to keep coming with him...up on the stage with the wedding party! We had front row seats! Dan and I were very touched and honored to have been invited to be with the family on this special occasion. Pavan was clearly pleased with our reaction. g Much of the marriage ceremony seems based on the bride being cared for and fertility. There was some washing with either milk or water, I couldn't tell. Pavan tied a red cord with a gold charm around Sujana's neck. There was filling each others hands with turmeric rice, the with coconuts and fruit and leaves. There was chanting and prayers. There was a time when the crowd around the stage threw turmeric rice at them couple, wishing them happiness. (We think that this is the origin of throwing rice at weddings, appropriated by the British.) The couple had these massive rose petal flower garlands on and they traded them. Then the couple showered each other with rice. Repeatedly. A lot of rice! A few more prayers and the ceremony was over. Family poured rice on them. Friends filed up and threw rice on them. Pavan's niece, who was maybe 2 or so, kept running up and throwing rice at them, which was adorable. After a bit of cleaning up, the couple were in their holding court positions and people came up and gave them gifts, good wishes and their blessing. It was very sweet. Pavan had a lovely group of friends in town who had all worked together at one time, but now all live in different cities. We chatted more with them. Took more pix. Then Pavan's father asked us if we'd like to tour the local temples, as one of his friends had offered to take us....
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment