Paintings
November 30, 2007
On the final day, a number of art students from Benares Hindu University came and made beautiful watercolor paintings of the yagya stala and pundits. Their talent was unmistakable and the style was surprisingly modern. They created some beautiful works of art.
This artis made a painting of the four guests during Rudra abishekam. It was really beautiful, but I asked him if he could make me look a little thinner…to which he replied “Too late!”. Oh well….
Rice flour decorations
November 29, 2007
For the final day, a couple people used brightly colored rice flour to decorate all the walkways. Another charming bit of attention to detail that made the entire yagya stala look festive.
Chanting Pundits
November 28, 2007
I really like this photo of the priests chanting with the puja table in the foreground. You can also see the brick paving that was put in place because of all the mud which was starting to get deep!
108 Pundits
November 27, 2007
On the final day we had a total of 108 pundits to chant Rudram 11 times for the morning’s Rudra Abishekam. It was quite impressive to hear that many voices sing the powerful Shiva mantras for several hours and at the end they sang as loudly as they could and in perfect synchronization. It was memorable (to say the least) and left no doubt about the power of mantra. You could certainly feel it!
A welcoming banner
November 26, 2007
On the final day they had made a wonderful banner with hundreds of flowers and green leaves to hang over the entrance to the yagya stala. This was very typical of the great effort that was invested in the facility and which would have been impossible in the US because of the cost of flower and labor!
There is a great charm to a culture which will invest this kind of time just to make sure that the first moment that you arrive has a moment of delight.
Final Rudra Abishekam
November 25, 2007
On the last day the Rudra Abishekam ended with beautiful flower decorations topped with a great lotus blossom.
Growing wheat!
November 24, 2007
By tradition the sand that supports these pots contains grains of wheat, although I am not sure why. There was so much rain that after just 4 days the wheat had sprouted and was growing rapidly! The green wheat, the gold marigolds, and the red pots are all a great example of the richness and intensity of colors of India.
Durga on the final day
November 23, 2007
I posted a photo of the 1 inch tall solid gold Durga aout a week ago and on the final day these were the elaborate malas that decorated her. The white flowers are fragrant jasmine and the blue are beautiful small iris flowers. I had never seen an iris so small or that intensely purple.
The perfect lotus
November 22, 2007
On the side of the stala grounds there was a lotus pond and the first thing I noticed on the final day of yagyas was this perfect flower. It is so easy to see why the lotus is such a revered flower. The dramatic color, the shape; everything in perfect contrast to the dark green leaves and dark muddy water.
Sunset
November 21, 2007
Not much to say other than this was another beautiful end to another beautiful day. We were 30 km from the city, by the Ganges, in the middle of the rice fields and at the end of the day it always seemed to be the perfect environment. It always amazed me how little of western comforts and technology I missed at times like this. The yagyas created such a strong sense of contentment. This was really all we needed at the time.