Sri Krishna Temple

Elephant at the head of the parade. I hope they gave him a nice snack afterwords!
Krishna Temple - it dates back to the 1300's. The temple is surrounded by 8 maths (monasteries).

It is hard to tell from this photo, but this is not a human - it is a very large statue.
Part of the small parade/procession.

We had an exciting little add-on today after our field trip - we went shopping briefly at Big Bazaar (I got some clothes), and Dr. Howard treated us to Sugar Cane Juice. Our next stop was the Sri Krishna Temple. It was an exciting time to visit the temple as preparations are underway for a big celebration next week. Today there were many visitors to the temple, and we were able to walk through as well. I snapped some good shots outside, but photography inside is strictly prohibited. We left our shoes outside (we paid 1/2 rupee for someone to secure them) and shuffled through the maze of the temple barefoot just like everyone else. A little boy behind me kept smiling up at me, so I gave him one of my Baltimore postcards (many of us brought small items to give to the children we encounter). A few minutes later I realized that the boy, his father, and two brothers had tracked me down to get postcards for each of the other brothers. I'm not used to being so popular.

Visiting the Temple was a tremendous experience. I was hesitant to partake in everything because I wanted to respect someone else's place of worship and ceremony, but I was encouraged at every turn to take part in the rituals. There was bell-ringing, viewing of statues, touching of icons, and some kind of liquid that was ladled into your hand; first you smelled it, then you put it on your head. When we came out of the temple we heard gun shots and music; there was a small ceremonial procession headed our way. There was someone very famous in the procession; I don't know who, but all of the Indian girls in our group knew him, and were calling their moms to say that they had seen him. The trip to the Temple was just stupendous; I am afraid of cheapening the experience by trying to describe it more, so I will leave it be. I hope that you enjoy the photos.