Losing Our Way Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day I can hear her breathing. --------------------------------------------------------- Arundhati Roy (Indian author, advocate, activist)

S INDIA: Shantivanam Ashram; Trichy; Kumily; Amritapuri Ashram; Kollam; Varkala; Kottayam; Cochin

INDIA | Tuesday, 22 December 2009 | Views [2345]

Many of the Hindu temples in South India have at least one ornate and colorful entry tower -- called a "gopuram," with all kinds of traditional deities depicted. You can stare at them for hours and keep seeing new elements! This one welcomed us to Thiruvanaikaval Jambukeshwara Temple in Trichy.

While we waited for Trichy's Thiruvanaikaval Jambukeshwara Temple to re-open after lunch, we were befriended by a young elephant keeper. Many temples in South India honor the deity Ganesh with blessing-giving elephants. You offer the elephant a few rupees and the elephant touches its trunk to your head. We were worried about how they are treated -- but our hour spent with Shakti the Elephant and his trainer proved a deep love and a deep commitment between human and animal. Shakti is truly one of the family -- and an incredibly sweet and intelligent being!

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Probably the crown jewel of the Hindu temples we visited was Srirangam in Trichy. It has seven gopouram -- creating seven rings around the inner sanctum of the temple -- each ring representing an increasingly subtle level of consciousness. You can see the first three of the gopuram in this photo. Each layer also contains incredible shrines, all dedicated to Vishnu.

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Losing Our Way Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day I can hear her breathing. --------------------------------------------------------- Arundhati Roy (Indian author, advocate, activist)

S INDIA: Shantivanam Ashram; Trichy; Kumily; Amritapuri Ashram; Kollam; Varkala; Kottayam; Cochin

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