Krishna Krishna

As someone who has never traveled outside of Europe and North America prior to this trip, I often find myself thinking that the sites we visit here seem downright otherworldly. The most transporting of these experiences, perhaps, are our visits to the various temples that are ubiquitous throughout India. Hinduism is by far the most prevalent religion here - something like 70% of the country identifies as Hindu - but its theology is so broadly multifaceted, ancient, and complex that even long attempts at research end up leaving the impression that you've barely scratched the surface.

One aspect of Hinduism that may make it difficult for monotheists to understand is the classification and function of the various deities. Although scriptures mention a total of 330 million (!) gods, Hindu temples chiefly pay homage to a main trio, Vishnu, Shiva, and Devi, who may also go by different names and incarnations. One of the most popular and widely worshipped incarnations of Vishnu is Krishna, commonly depicted as a blue-skinned man playing a flute. Elissa had told us that in our local district of Udupi there is a large Krishna temple that attracts both worshippers and tourists. As we clambered into the rickshaw, I mentally groped for my scant amount of relevant background knowledge and came up with the Season 5 episode of Mad Men where Paul Kinsey joins the fledgling Hare Krishna movement that popularized Krishna worship in 1960s New York City.

My expert recall of Mad Men plot lines has not proven especially useful at this or any other time

The Udupi Krishna temple and its environs was a bustling plaza of people, color, and fanciful architecture unlike anything we'd really seen before. "This feels kind of like... the Aladdin part of Disney World," Laura appraised as we took it all in.

Laura and I unintentionally wore matching kurtas

I still have no idea what those structures are but I would like one in my backyard someday

Blues on blues on blues

A few men were lolling in this communal bath

Inside the main temple, a rectangular walkway led visitors around the perimeter as devotees in the inner courtyard chanted, stoked fires, played music, and burned incense. The late afternoon sun filtered in through gaps in the lattice-work, casting long beams of light that cut through the haze and made shifting patterns on the floor. Thick, perfumed smoke had concentrated in the enclosed space, stinging the eyes and making the air hard to breathe within seconds of entering. I watched the men sitting cross-legged on the floor, lost in prayer, and wondered how they managed to spend longer than a few minutes here.

"We're going to have COPD by the time we leave this place," I said to Katie, who couldn't hear me over the din inside but smiled appreciatively anyway.

Inside the temple:

I didn't feel bad about my photography because this dude was doing it too

At the exit, this large burning log lay perfectly positioned to catch inattentive passersby on fire

We'll close with a video of the ride home. I've been trying to get a good video to portray the madness of riding in a rickshaw, but I feel like I haven't been very successful at capturing the terror, yet. Here's an attempt:

Till next time!