Angel

Hinduism, continued.... Foreigners are often not allowed in Hindu temples for reasons mostly related to caste and ritual purity but in Kerala we were taken to visit one. It formed a huge complex, larger than any cathedral I have ever visited, but with one similarity, the various artefacts which, in Hinduism, are mainly images of gods are a miscellaneous assortment that have collected over the ages. To the outside observer the general impression is of a huge garage. This is partly because of the lamp oil which seems to be deliberately smeared all over the walls, but also many temples literally include a garage in which processional carts and floats are simply stacked up in a corner. The temple also looks a bit like a zoo since most of the deities are inside compartments that look a lot like cages or tanks. Worship in Hinduism is much more individualistic than in some other religions. It seems that people might go to the temple at any time, for a wide variety of spiritual purposes. There are priests officiating most of the time but arrangements seem to be made on an individual rather than a collective basis. It is definitely not as if there is a service at 5 pm which everyone will attend, and then leave, though there are festivals at different times throughout the year. Hindu temples and shrines have a strange and powerful atmosphere at any time but one incident occurred during our visit which really brought out this aspect. We were in the shrine to Ganesha when some Hindu women came in to pray. One of them knelt before the deity, then she must have got up too quickly, because she very suddenly collapsed on the floor, and it was a few minutes before she came round. The 'medical' explanation was obvious, but it was still an impressive event in that particular atmosphere. It is easy to imagine that this sort of thing doesn't have to happen very often before rumours about the power of the Ganesha image or the spiritual sensitivity of the individual in question get around.

Perhaps by the time we got to Mysore we were getting used to Hinduism but in any case it seemed as if the atmosphere at Chammundi Hill really was different, more cheerful and festive. On our visit we did everything in the wrong order, going by car straight to the top and then driving down to see the statue of Nandi which a pilgrim should come to first, so this is a reconstitution of the visit in its proper order. You start at the bottom of the hill, preferably in the morning when it is still relatively cool and begin walking up the steps. The sun is bright, and the hillside is covered with magenta and blue flowering shrubs. After a long climb you reach a level area where there is a large and very impressive black statue of Nandi the bull, the vehicle of Siva. But the first things you notice are the stalls selling cool fresh fruit juices, bananas or sodas. After a drink, you remove your shoes and walk around Nandi in his enclosure in an anti clockwise direction. When you get back to the head of the bull you give the priest some rupees and in exchange receive a flower, a dot of paint on your forehead and some holy water in the cup of your right hand. You drink this and find it has a strong flavour of rose petals, then you apply your wet hand to your forehead. You've completed the first stage of your pilgrimage but you still have a lot of climbing to do. After the second lot of stairs you reach the top area. There are lots of traders loudly advertising their souvenirs, trinkets and refreshments. There is a fairly large car park for the people who didn't walk up and in the centre of this a tall brightly coloured statue of the demon supposedly slain by the goddess Chammundeswari. He doesn't look very frightening or even all that unfriendly. You then take your shoes to the shoe vestiary and enter the temple through the silver doors carved with sculptures of the goddess in a variety of manifestations. A huge crowd is pressing up to the goddess to get a blessing, they all seem extremely happy to be there. Chammundeswari is an important protectress of Mysore and is carried in procession through the city every year, just as Mary still is in numerous European villages and towns. To the non-Hindu onlooker her appearance can seem like a bit of an anti-climax. I can't even remember how she looks, but I think she was mostly swathed in cloth and flowers.   Back to travelogue contents

Demon from Chammundi