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Temples of Kashi - The Tilbhandeshwar Temple

The city of Kashi is filled with temples, big and small, old and new. There are temples at every corner, and you never know where you will stumble upon a small shrine. There are idols beneath what remains of trees (there are hardly any trees any more within the core area of the city), there are saffron covered forms resembling deities which seem attached to walls, an especially incongruous sight when the idol itself appears to be old, while the wall is evidently new…. And there are surprisingly large temples rising from what appear to be a bunch of houses. The city is sometimes colloquially said to be as old as time, and some of the shrines and temples are said to date back to times unknown, at least the deity itself, if not the structure. Not much remains of the ancient structures anyway. The city has seen more than its fair share of good and bad times. It has seen the heights of grandeur, and the lows brought about by destruction. The city that exists today has grown so haphaza...
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Faces in the Crowd - The perfume man

At most temples, we only see vendors selling items for the Lord. At the Govind Dev ji Temple in Jaipur, this lone man sat by a pillar, adding a touch of fragrance...


He happily obliged with his wares to whoever wanted to try them out, neither calling out nor encouraging them, selling to only those who asked him for some. Most people regarded him as just one of the other priests, and his perfume, another blessing of the Lord, so maybe it was so. In a time when even priests are pushy and adept salesmen, this man stood out for his silence, which is what made me click him. 

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Location: Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

Comments

  1. P.N. SubramanianOctober 19, 2013 at 10:15 AM

    The perfume bottles are unique.

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    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarOctober 19, 2013 at 10:24 AM

      Not really, PNS. These are the local perfumes, or attar. I have seen them often. They look pretty, but unfortunately, didnt get a better pic of them.

      Delete
  2. RenukaOctober 19, 2013 at 12:12 PM

    Interesting! Never heard or seen something like this before!

    ReplyDelete
  3. MridulaOctober 21, 2013 at 12:21 PM

    I wonder what was he thinking? He looks so serious and lost!

    ReplyDelete

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