Temple bells

Bells in temples, especially Hindu, shouldn't be a surprise. But have you ever seen a temple covered in bells? So much so that you can't see the original structure of the temple. It's as if the bells are the building materials of the temple. 

I lived in the temple's neighbourhood for years and had no idea it even existed. After I moved out, I came across some info on the world wide web which mentioned the temple. It seemed such an interesting place that I had to visit it when I was in the area next.

I usually visit places of worship when they are of interest architecturally or visually or have some curious folklore surrounding it. The bell temple fell into the latter category. I was there on a Saturday and found that it was one of the main days for worship. The place was crowded and since the temple borders a park which forms a junction of several roads, it was a bit chaotic. 

The temple is officially known as the 'Sri Hanuman Ghanteshwar Mandir' and is located at Madhu Park, Khar (W), Mumbai. It's dedicated to Hanuman, the Monkey God from Hinduism. I am not sure of the origins of the temple but the lore surrounding it is that you have to pray for your heart's desire. When (and not 'if') the wish is fulfilled, you must go back and tie a bell. The belief in the deity can be seen from the numerous bells that literally cover the entire structure of the temple. 

Due to all the crowd and traffic, I had to take photos from across the road. Photography is not allowed (I wonder why?) and there are sign boards informing you of the same. But I hadn't noticed these signs until I started clicking pictures and a security guard came running to shoo me away. The photographs are not particularly great but hopefully it'll suffice to give you an idea of what I saw. 

2014 - An Indian Summer

The past few months have been rather hectic. Travelling, coming back to packing & shifting house, settling down into a new home and managing work at the same time. Nevertheless, it all got done, with a little struggle, some heartache and lots of help from kind friends.

In between, I managed to make a couple of short trips outside the city, started going on long walks (doubles up as my exercise plan) which I like, around my new neighbourhood... generally tried to not get bogged down with all that's been happening around me. 

Some snapshots of what I saw, experienced or made me happy!

Beautiful lilies that just brightened up the place

Palm fruit being sold on the streets

One of India's natural summer thirst quenchers is the palm fruit. I discovered this fruit very recently when I was living in southern India. I was quite intrigued by these large, purplish fruits loaded on handcarts. A colleague at work first introduced me to it and now I always look out for them as summer rolls around. Each fruit has three hearts or pods which are like the white portions of the coconut. Here, they are fleshy and hold water. As the fruit matures, just like in a coconut, you get less water and tougher flesh. Here's more information on it, if you'd like.

Tunnels on the expressway between Pune & Mumbai

I love going through tunnels. Even as a kid, I would wait for the trains we travelled in to run through tunnels. Numerous decades later, I still do the same. :)

A pinwheel seller on the street

The pinwheels make such a colourful picture wherever they stand. You'll see loads of children with harassed parents in tow surrounding the seller. Summer holiday fun.

Setting sun via the car window

A gorgeous sunset in the horizon as we were getting into Mumbai from Pune, on the expressway. 

A fully bloomed 'Amaltas' tree

As much as I love this city, some things about it are beyond my understanding. It's a city, I have realised, where most building societies do not take pride in beautifying the outside of their apartment buildings. Inside their homes - kick ass. Outside... ahem! Dull white, grey, brown are the oft seen colours in this dense concrete jungle. And then you suddenly come across a green patch, an oasis of green. Sometimes the city can completely surprise you and throw up vivid colours in the midst of the bleak landscape. Like this 'amaltas' (botanical name: Cassia Fistula) tree that's in full bloom. Heart's delight. :) 

A 'bling' procession

You're forgiven if you think it's a religious procession. But it ain't. This was a noisy, blingy wedding 'baraat' (groom's party) headed towards their venue. The large, brilliantly lit chariot seated the groom. Those big lights in front of it (partially obscured by the trees, such a pity) were incredible. They were carried in huge pots, balanced on the shoulders of men. The lights rotated around like in some crazy disco accompanied by mind-numbing, loud, blaring music. Definitely a recipe to go blind & deaf simultaneously. 

A sudden summer storm that overtook us enroute

A wild, tempestuous mid-summer sky while road tripping between Pune and Mumbai. It came upon us suddenly with thunder and streaks of lightning. But very little rain. 

Another shot of the stormy sky

Since, these were shot through the windows of the vehicle with the glass up, you can see strange reflections. Like here, where you can see one of the mirrors of the car in the sky. Quirky, I thought and left the photo untouched :)

Summer's by no means over. I hope I can still get some good things out of it, the scorching temperatures notwithstanding. As they say, make hay while the sun shines!

Of lights & curiosities

Apart from the well-known Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (formerly the Prince of Wales Museum), Mumbai also has a much smaller musem, quaint but interesting. 

Now, known as the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad City Museum, it was formerly the Victoria and Albert Museum and is located in the Jijamata Udyan premises (erstwhile Victoria Gardens) in Byculla. So much for our country's colonial past! :)

Much has been written about this 130+ years old museum by better bloggers than me, for it's an irresistible piece of history of this intriguing, ever changing and evolving city. 

Rather than repeat all that's been written about this beautiful building and all that it contains, I am going to post a few photos of some of the bits that I found interesting, in and around the museum. 

The beautifully restored interiors of the museum. You can catch a glimpse of the statue of Prince Albert that rests on the ground floor. It's huge!

The tiles on the grand staircase that leads up to the top floor. They are supposed to be the original Minton tiles imported all the way from England when the museum was built. 

A view of the decorated ceiling from the first floor

The gorgeous chandelier suspended from the ceiling close to the staircase

The turnstile that still allows entry into the main hall of the museum from the foyer outside

The plate on the turnstile that vouches for its British origins

A lamp post on a huge pedestal was lying in a small patch of garden on one side of the museum building. Giving it company were a few statues, some headless (more of that later). They all seemed to have been moved from various parts of the city, too interesting to be junked (thankfully) but past their usefulness. 

The lamp had a plaque on it that said "Erected A.D. 1867 in honour of The Right Honourable Sir Seymour Fitzgerald, K.C.S.I., The Governor of Bombay by the Esplanade Committee." There is a mention of A.F. Bellasis, A.T. Crawford and (I think) K Muncharam as President and Members (of the committee). No other details of the lamp or its history were available.

The heavily ornamented street lamp. Unlikely to be electric as Bombay hadn't seen electricity until 1882. 

 . 

The sides of the lamp's pedestal had this bowl and lion's head. Wonder if the mechanics of a fountain were in-built into the pedestal.

One side had a metal ladder reaching up to the top. Presumably, to operate the lamp and occasionally clean it too.

Headless marble statues of various colonial figures. Plaques mentioned Lord Cornwallis (standing) and Lord Wellesley (seated) as two of them.

I haven't included any photographs of the artefacts and dioramas that are inside the museum as they were overwhelmingly large in number. Since the museum was set up to showcase India's (under colonial rule) arts, crafts and industry it has numerours artefacts from the subcontinent - carved objects, metal work, inlay work. It also includes models of various scenes - in villages, of tradesmen, of various communities and their culture etc. 

Among them are images with descriptions of some of the Gods and Goddesses from Hinduism. Considering it's almost Valentine's Day, I think it's appropriate to end this post with the image and description of Kamdev (Cupid's equivalent) as seen in the museum. :)

The label says, "Kamdeva, the God of love, is the son of Brahma. He holds a bow made of sugarcane with humming bees and arrows with flower-tipped shafts of desire. It is said that he roams the earth during spring and fires his arrows at sages, young girls and married women."

:)

What 'ales'?

This bottle of beer in a club in Mumbai had 'Kingfisher' as it's label but 'Tuborg' embossed on it (above the label). Who's bottling whom, I wonder? (I can assure you, the photograph is not tampered with. It's way too much trouble for something as silly as this.)

Can a good girl really have a good time?

I just finished reading 'Keep the Change' by Nirupama Subramaniam - about a 26 year old Chartered Accountant from Chennai who moves to Mumbai (for conservative Indian parents it reads 'sin city') with a new job. She shares an apartment with a chic, sophisticated colleague from Delhi.

This is not a review of the bookso i'll get to the point about the post. The novel's not great literature, doesn't even claim to be. But an easy, humourous read that keeps you engrossed.

Some sample lines from the novel:

• A wedding scene: "Vision of myself with a large sticker on my forehead saying 'Bride Available', and a cardboard sheet listing my golden virtues around my neck like those people you see proclaiming The End of the World..."
• About her flatmate: "I live in a den of vice, with a girl whose clothes are tight and morals loose. Despite that, or because of that, she seems to be having a great time. I hate her."
• About today's ideal beauty vis-a-vis 'curvaceous Tamil film heroine' in another era: "The message is clear - if you don't look like a beauty pageant contestant, you should be prepared to live the life of a social outcast with a paper bag (XXL) over your head."

Towards the second half of the book, the protagonist's romance which was starting off in fits and starts...seem to remain at that. Got a little tedious. Her interactions with her flat mate could have been included a bit more instead, they were more interesting than the romance for sure.

The story ends well for the protagnist with her securing her dream job etc etc. I like happy endings, so am good.

Of 'backsides'

As an Indian, I guess I ought not give a second thought to the usage of 'backside' in everday language without blinking an eye. Let me explain... here, in Mumbai, where I have currently live, 'backside' is used thus:

• The cafe is located on the backside of that building
• You will find the ph no on the backside of the book
• You have to search for it on the backside of the shelf

So on and so forth...

In many of the cities in India that I have lived in or travelled to, I have heard the usage of 'backside' in a similar fashion but not as commonly as in Mumbai.

Even though am no expert in the language, I doubt that the usage is incorrect but it's informal meaning is so commonly known & used that one would hesitate to refer to buildings, books, roads etc as having 'backsides' (i.e. instead of back entrances or behind...).

back·side: noun 1.the rear or back part or view of an object, person, scene, etc.; that part which is opposite the front. 2. (informal) rump; buttocks. (source: www.dictionary.com)

Whatever the reason might be, it does seem that 'backside' has caught the fancy of the locals and is here to stay... offering many amused moments to those who first stumble upon it.