again another post, more pictures. Now from Varanasi (those who read earlier posts must have noticed how much I like the place) which is again very different, especially from the barren, tranquil mountains of Ladakh. This is my fourth time in the city and even though the old part of town isn't that big, there is still much to discover. To my own surprise I found architecture and especially the intricate decoration found on the outside of houses and temples most fascinating during my stay here, walking around and looking for these beautiful details also proved to be a good way to talk to people. Although my building-related Hindi vocab doesn't really exist, I managed to find out the history of many buildings, quite a few are around 200 years old and have been inhabited by the same families for several generations. "I was born in this house and I shall die here" said one old man to me. Not too long ago we lived like that in Europe, but to me the concept of spending your whole life in one place seems ... romantic ... removed ... far away.
Two of my favourite doors in town. I especially like the first one with the eagle, it might be Garud, Vishnu's vahan (many gods have an animal companion, the word literally means vehicle, although I'm not sure if they all ride on them...)
A close-up of Ganesh, guarding the door to another house. He is sitting on a mouse, his vahan. Quite nice, the elephan's servant a mouse!
Paintings on the corners between two houses. A maharaja riding an elephant on the right, the left picture shows Shiva, you recognize him through the cobra around his neck and the trident he's holding.
If there is anything like a "main god" in this area it is Shiva. Some people believe he made a puja on the banks of the Ganges 3500 years ago. Yesterday was a major festival for him, when thousands of pilgrims carried pots with Ganges water around the town to pour them on shrines and temples of the god.
The roof of a temple.
The ghats by night. Now, during monsoon water levels are much higher than I've ever seen them, this temple seems to be sinking away slowly...
Tristan enjoying the evening breeze and deep in thought.
1 comment:
you are living a dream. unfortunately I didn't have the time to read the whole blog but your photos made me want to go back to my country and explore it like I have never done before. the photos just left me dumbstruck!( and that's a compliment).
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