... And, the reality is most temples don't really look like that. However, in the past week I've actually been to 2 different temples that reflect my views of what a temple should look like.
Sri Bhoga Nandeeshwara Temple at the foot of Nandi Hills is a 9th century temple which I'd never known existed till Maya invited me for her wedding. We set off early Saturday morning and reached the place just 60kms away in a couple of hours; welll, we got caught in bad traffic along the way. Why? Because it was the muslim festival Bakrid and there were hundreds of people steaming down the streets towards the mosque.
But we needed to reach a Temple that day so we drove along, past the city, past the airport, past open countryside, past a railway crossing just as the train passed by and reached this ancient place. Being a wedding, the sandy stone buildings seemed to have come alive with marigold strewn along the ground. The people around brought in a lot of color and between the priests and the musicians the much needed chanting began!
The Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram, I've been to several times when I was younger. I loved the place and found it extremely fascinating with all the carvings of deities, elephants and other strange things. Also, being a world heritage site junkie, the thought of going to any one of the 962 UNESCO World Heritage Sites is a welcome thought any day. So, middle of a Friday afternoon here I was at this 7th Century Temple on the eastern shore of southern India overlooking the Bay of Bengal.I don't know whats so special about this place... the intricate carvings; the fact that its faced sand, wind and sea for over a 1000 years and yet looks untouched; that its a comparatively small temple which manages to look overpowering;
Or, maybe its just the fact that its takes my mind on a journey through time as I think about this temple amidst ancient India.
