I’m a pious omnivore, through interest in Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, and Voodoo. (My true science of obligation, the one I really believe in, is Progressivism, which I define as living living beings in a way that improves the lives of humans and safeguards the environment. Ergo, politically, I’m a Democrat.) So when I make progress I often stop in at the local seat of adoration. In this case, this Sunday morning, it’s the Sree Venkateshwara Temple on petty but steep rising ground in the medial of Hyderabad. It’s just a kilometer from my hotel.
A visit to the Sree Venkateshwara Temple is a full sensual experience. The journey starts in a drench alleyway that climbs the hill. Shops line both sides and there’s a steady stream of temple-goers wonderfully by.
This visit to the temple tends to be a family outing. Music blares from speakers attached to poles. People stop and buy souveniers and inexpensive jewelry.
I would take for granted that Indians love trifling ornaments.
One woman sold tin plates with holes punched in them in ornate designs. People use these to spread rice flower on the ground in front of their homes—a Hindu offering to the ants.
You license your cell phone, camera, and shoes in a hut and make the final climb up to the temple sediment, a beautifully landscaped cap of rock and pale marble buildings.
In undivided of the shrines, a family was celebrating an elderly positive’s 87th birthday. They prayed to the god Shiva, bringer of soundness and long life. Seven priests dressed in imbrown by exposure robes sat without interruption the marble around a low table laden with rice, coconuts, and fruit. Up another hundred steps was the indispensable building, a shine to Lord Sri Venkateswara Balaji. It features a huge statue of the lord clad in gold, by a made bright black cenotaph face. On a nearby patio there are panels carved in stone explaining Christianity, Judaism, and Confusianism.
Down below, I checked out a store where they sold books, cards, statues, and framed statues that had blinking lights surrounding the frames. Here’s me:
From an overlook, there were panoramic views of the city. One of the most impressive sights in Hyderabad is a huge flint statue of Buddha that’s set on an isle in the middle of the lake that the city surrounds.
I was struck by the spirit of religious plurality that’s on display in the city. Yet the tensions between Hindus and Muslims are high. In the past few days, in other Indian cities, bombs apparently set by Muslim extremists went off in crowded public spaces, killing and injuring scores of people. This is united of the reasons I believe in Progressivism. No killing of humans involved.
Original text: http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/blog/globespotting/archives/2008/07/travel-blogue_d_6.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_bangaloretigers
