Wednesday night outside of Aranmula temple - we buy the pilgrims' malas (chains to wear around our neck, with a picture of Lord Ayyappa) from this street seller
Wednesday night inside the Aranmula temple - the festival of Krishna. Priests drum and perform puja ceremonies.
Wednesday night: the line of people inside the Aranmula temple complex, waiting to go inside the sancum sanctorum.
Wednesday night in the Aranmula temple complex - the temple elephants
There are more photos I want to add - of Friday night preparing to go to Sabarimala, and Friday night / Saturday at Sabarimala. But unfortunately the uploading of images is taking forever today so I'll try again tomorrow.
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A book I'm reading at the moment: "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. I highly recommend it. She is an American woman who went through a terribly difficult divorce and then an on again off again addictive relationship (sounds familiar) and then decided to spend a year of her life attending to 3 areas of her life that needed healing: Allowing pleasure and savouring it (she spent 4 months in Italy, particularly savouring food, thus the "Eat" part of the title) Discovering and developing spirituality (She spent 4 months in an ashram in South India, thus the "Pray" part of the title) and finding a balance between pleasure and spirituality (She spent 4 months in Bali, and discovers how to love again, thus the "Love" part of the title) I'm finding much of what she writes very relevant, very moving and very familiar.
