Tag Archives: Hinduism

A shrine near the Pichola Lake in Udaipur

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 A DARGAH IS a shrine enclosing the grave of a (usually) Sufi saint or ‘pir’ (a Sufi spiritual guide). During my travels in India, I have visited many dargahs. Today (27  November 2025), we came across a dargah close to the Imli Ghat and the city wall by the shore of Pichola Lake in Udaipur.

 

The tree growing within the dargah

The dargah was contained in a decoratively perforated stainless steel enclosure. Part of the shrine is the trunk of a tall, growing tree. A gentleman who has a shop nearby showed me that part of the trunk is hollowed out. This space is covered by a decorated cloth such as can often be found draped on Muslim gravestones.  Fresh flowers were scattered at various places in the dargah.

 

What interested me is something I have noticed before in dargahs. That is the presence of smoking agarbatti (incense sticks), similar to those used at Hindu religious shrines and temples.

 

In the case of the dargah near the Imli Ghat,  another feature that caught my attention was the tree growing within it. Maybe, it was not significant,  but it reminded me of the multitude of Hindu shrines located around the trunks of trees.

 

In my book “CORACLES AND CROCODILES: 101 TALES OF INDIA”, I have written about practices shared by both Hindus and Muslims in India. Although the two religions differ considerably, it seems to me that some rituals (rather than beliefs) are commonly used by Indian adherents of both of them. Some other commonalities related to religious rituals are also described in my book.

[My book is available from Amazon]

A not quite religious experience in a temple in rural Rajasthan

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IN DECEMBER 2024, we hired a taxi to take us from Jaisalmer to Bikaner: both are cities in Rajastahan (India). As it was a journey that was going to take over five hours, we decided we needed a break en-route.

When we asked our rather sullen driver to find a place for us to stop for a light lunch, he drove us off the main road into a small town (an overgrown village) called Ramdevra. The modest place where we ate satisfactory vegetarian food was not one frequented by foreign visitors. People hanging around the establishment were clearly curious about us, but in a friendly way. After lunch, our driver encouraged us to walk to the Sree Baba Ramdev Temple, for which the town is famous. It was much further away from the restaurant than the “few minutes” our driver had told us. Near the temple, there were many stalls where lumps of different coloured crystalline dhoop (aromatic products made with herbs and resins, which when heated or burned release fragrant smoke) and incense sticks were for sale. It was very clear that his choosing to stop in Ramdevra was to visit the temple, which turned out to be a crowded place in a huge shed filled with Hindu shrines.

It was mass-production Hinduism. Impatient crowds of people, including us, were hurried along narrow passageways demarcated by metal railings. The maze of railings made the place look like a cattle market filled with animal holding pens.  The idea seemed to be to get the devotees to donate money at the several shrines in exchange for blessings that were performed by pandits as quickly as they could manage. Rather than feeling like a spiritual experience, it felt more like being a product on a fast-moving industrial conveyor belt. Our driver seemed pleased that he had visited the temple complex. We did not share his enthusiasm, and were pleased when we returned to the highway.

The hammer and sickle near the seashore in Pondicherry

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THE LETTERS ‘CITU’ stand for the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, which was founded in 1970. Its ‘logo’ includes the hammer and sickle, a symbol first used on some Chilean coins as early as 1894. However, it became widely recognised after 1917 when it was used as a symbol during the Russian Revolution, and long after it was over.

 

Today, I  spotted a small street stand erected in Pondicherry by the CITU.  It is located on the corner of Rue du Bazar St Laurent and Beach Road (Goubert Avenue),  which runs along the seafront. It has three white hammer and sickles, each on a red background. One of these symbols faces in the opposite direction to the other two.

 

Now, here is what interested me. Two of the Communist symbols decorate the stone supports of a short table or bench. Running along the length of the bench and slightly above it, there is a row of religious images. Four of them depict Hindu deities,  three of them are images of Christianity,  and one, showing two mosques and the Holy Koran, is connected with Islam.

I suppose that this might reflect the fact that local members of the CITU are adherents of these three religions.  But, I  am only guessing.

An evening prayer offering by the water of the River Ganges

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THE WORD AARTI is from the Sanskrit language. It means ‘something that removes darkness’. In many pujas (Hindu ceremonies), an aarti is performed: it involves presenting a flame to appease the deity or deities. 

 

One evening, we were walking along the bank of the Hooghly (a part of the holy Ganges river that flows through Kolkata) just after sunset. We came across rows of plastic chairs facing the river at Babughat (one of the stepped landings used by people bathing in the river). Between them and the water there was a row of altars. We asked someone the reason for the chairs. We were informed that they were set up so that people could watch the daily Ganga Aarti, which was due to happen at 530 pm. Our daughter,  who had witnessed a Ganga Aarti at Varanasi, persuaded us to wait and watch the forthcoming aarti.

 

We sat down and joined the other spectators. While we waited, several hawkers walked along the rows of chairs, selling snacks of various kinds, both packaged and prepared to order (for example, jhal muri – puffed rice with flavourings). One hawker carried a tray on which a small lamp (a diya) was flickering. For a small cash offering, he blessed the ‘customer’ and placed some prasad (blessed food) into his or her right hand. Meanwhile, rotating spotlights and piped music added to the festive atmosphere. Gradually,  all the seats were occupied,  and many people were standing nearby on the sides of the ghat.

 

At 5.30 pm, priests dressed in shiny gold robes with wide sashes over their left shoulders began assembling, one in front of each of the altars. The latter were illuminated with hoops carrying brightly lit electric light bulbs. Then,  the ceremony began.

 

A pandit, dressed in white, speaking into a handheld microphone chanted prayers in Sanskrit. As he was doing this, the gold clad priests performed several visually exciting activities. These included moving containers emitting clouds of smoke. They swung them and moved them in circles, each man in synchrony with the others. After this, they did much the same thing with candelabras each carrying many small flaming oil lamps (diyas). These were then replaced by larger flaming lamps, each of which had handles shaped like cobras ready to attack.  After the balletic flame movements, the flaming lamps were carried down to the water’s edge. I could not see whether they were immersed in the river.

 

In addition to the movements with the flaming lamps, large conch shells were washed through with water, some of which was sprinkled on the crowd. The conches were also blown to produce a sound indistinguishable from the horns on the locomotives of the trains running every few minutes on the suburban railway track that was a few feet behind where the ceremony was being performed. 

 

I am very pleased we waited to watch the Ganga Aarti. Apart from being more spectacular than many theatrical performances I have seen, it was very moving. It is yet another example of how much more vibrant and fervent religious ceremonies are in India than they are in most parts of Europe.

A goddess and going to jail in Kolkata

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THE ALIPORE JAIL used to house political prisoners, whom the British regarded as a threat to their rule of India.  The inmates included freedom fighters such as the future Sri Aurobindo,  Jawaharlal Nehru, and Subhas Chandra Bose. The prison has been restored and is now a museum. In December 2024 and for the first few days of 2025, several exhibitions that are part of the Bengal Biennale have been held in some of the jail’s  buildings.  One of these, which I found extremely interesting and well curated, is called “Kali: Reverence and Rebellion”.

 

Kali is a Hindu goddess. I will not try to explain her exploits and great importance to Hindus, but will outline the subject matter of the exhibition by quoting from the website of the Biennale (www.bengalbiennale.com/):

“Divided into sections, the exhibition traces Kali’s pervasive influence across the subcontinent. It explores Kali and her cohorts of the divine feminine. Born from Durga’s angry, darkened brow as she battles the asuras Chanda and Munda, Kali decapitates the demons and assumes the form of Chamunda. Within these depictions, she is seen alongside Durga, the primordial force, as well as the ten Mahavidyas that emerge to subdue Shiva.”

 

Subhas Chandra Bose image

In addition to the wonderful array of images on display, which can be enjoyed without any knowledge of Kali, what fascinated me was the connection between Kali and the fight of Indians for independence. The website explained:

“During the nationalist period, Kali was invoked as a symbol of rebellion by Aurobindo Ghosh and Subhash Chandra Bose to urge their followers to fight against imperialist forces.”

In connection with this, two images fascinated me. One of them depicts Kali who has cut off her own head and she holds it in her left hand while blood shoots out of her cut neck and into the mouth of her self-decapitated head. Painted in about 1840, this image shows what Kali did after either she was unable to obtain Shiva’s blood, or she had been deprived of her conjugal rights. Known as Chinnamasta, this avatar of Kali is often shown with one foot on the chest of a god (Shiva) or standing above a copulating couple.

 

Elsewhere in the exhibition, there is an image of Subhas Chandra Bose created during the twentieth century. It shows the freedom fighter, Bose, standing decapitated and holding his own head in his left hand. He is standing above a group of decapitated heads. Blood pours down from his head and it falls onto a map of India on which the words “Jai Hind” (‘Victory to India’) can be seen. The image is a politicisation of the depiction of Chinnamasta.

 

Apart from a wonderful selection of Kali images created by Indian artists, there are a few made by early Europeans who visited India and wanted to record their experiences and to attempt to understand Hinduism. All in all, the exhibition was very well worth viewing. It was so popular with visitors to the jail that a security guard was present to regulate the number of viewers at any one time, to prevent overcrowding.

Hindoo Stuart and a son of  a great author

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THE SOUTH PARK Street Cemetery in Kolkata was opened in 1767 and was used as a burial ground for Europeans (mainly British) until 1830. It contains a large collection of funerary sculpture (mostly mausoleums and obelisks), much of which is in the neoclassical style. This now peaceful oasis in central Kolkata with much greenery is the final resting place of many people who had roles in the British East India Company (including its armies) and their families.  Although the place contains the remains of many interesting people  I will concentrate on two of them, both of whom had military careers.

Tomb of Hindoo Stuart

Charles Stuart (c1758-1828) was born in Ireland (Dublin) and joined the East  India Company when aged 19. He served in one of its armies, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.  In India, he was attracted to, and fascinated by, Hindu culture and traditions. He adopted many Hindu ways of life including religious practices. For example, when off duty,  he wore Indian clothes and bathed in the Ganges (the Hooghly) daily. In addition,  he wrote many articles, published in the newspapers of Calcutta,  which extolled the Indian ways of living, and encouraged Europeans to wear Indian garb rather than western clothing. He felt that ladies from Europe would feel more comfortable and look better wearing saris in India. His sympathy for the Indian modes of life and admiration of Indians earned him the nickname ‘Hindoo Stuart’, but did not impede his military career.  His funerary monument in the South Park Street Cemetery is in the form of a small Hindu temple, quite different in form from all of the other monuments in the graveyard.

 

The other military person commemorated at South Park Street  has a very modest, barely legible gravestone. It records the death of the short-lived Walter Landor Dickens (1841-1863).  He was the fourth child and second son of the author of “Oliver Twist” and many other famous novels: Charles Dickens. Walter became an officer cadet in the East India Company armies, arriving in India in 1857, just before the so-called Indian Mutiny began. After the end of this revolutionary activity and the end of the Company’s rule in India and the start of the British government’s control of the country, he became a soldier in the British Army. Illness resulted in his death in a military hospital in Calcutta.

 

Walter was buried at the Bhowanipore Military Cemetery in Calcutta.  In 1987, some students at Kolkata’s Jadavpur University raised funds and had Walter’s gravestone moved to the South Park Street Cemetery. This was done because it was not being cared for and to honour his father, the famous author.

 

Having recently become a fan of the novels of Charles Dickens,  I  was pleased to have been able to view Walter’s gravestone.  The lettering on it is legible, but not too easy to read.

 

During our recent visit to the Cemetery, which we made in December 2024, we saw the two graves mentioned above and many others which we had not noticed on previous visits.  For those interested in the early history of Kolkata during its British occupation, the South Park Street Cemetery should not be missed.

The power of faith and a polluted river

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

ON CHRISTMAS MORNING (2024), we walked leisurely beside the Hooghly River (a stretch of the Ganges) between Prinsep Ghat and Eden Gardens, a distance of about 1.3 miles. With a good paved footpath,  this is a pleasant, picturesque, tree lined place to stroll.

 

Near Eden Park railway station,  there is a popular bathing ghat (a flight of steps leading into the water). From a  bridge that overlooks this, we watched people bathing in the river. Many of them immersed themselves fully several times. Others washed themselves. We saw people applying shampoo to wash their hair. I noticed a few men wading out into the water, carrying small trays containing flowers for puja. They threw these floral offerings into the fast flowing stream.

 The Ganges, of which the Hooghly is a part, is considered to be a place of great holiness by Hindus. They believe that bathing in this river conveys several benefits including: cleansing the soul; connecting with divine cosmic forces; washing away bad karma from the present or previous births; health giving and healing; and removing negativity. So, if you are a believer, bathing in the Hooghly/Ganges must be a good thing. But, must it?

 

Signs along the path on which we strolled exhort people not to dump rubbish in the river. But it is clearly obvious that these signs are not obeyed.  It is not only strollers’ rubbish that enters the sacred river. The river is being continuously polluted by sewage, industrial effluent, and decomposing corpses. This has resulted in high levels of toxic chemicals including heavy metals, and frighteningly large amounts  of bacterial and other microbial pathogens.

 

According to several official bodies, the Hooghly  has been deemed totally unsuitable for bathing. Yet despite this, there is no shortage of people entering the river to bathe, putting  their entire heads underwater, and washing themselves with this water that carries a real risk of causing ill-health. Such is the power of faith that the well-publicized risks of bathing in the river are outweighed by the belief that the water can only benefit the bather.

Tulsi trees and temples within the fort at Jaisalmer

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 THE WALLS OF THE fort in Jaisalmer (Rajasthan) contain a living city that has been in existence since the early 18th century,  but the fort itself was established in the 12th century. It is enjoyable to wander the narrow lanes that thread their way between houses, many of which are decorated with elaborate, Rajput style carving.

 

The only thing that can cause the visitor some concern is the regular passage of motorbikes and scooters along the thoroughfares which are severely limited in width. These vehicles, often driven by impatient people who sound the horn loudly and frequently, squeeze past one, narrowly avoiding injuring pedestrians. I suspect that these motorists find the tourists as irritating as the pedestrians regard them. That said, like Venice, whose main thoroughfares are crammed with visitors,  Jaisalmer, like Venice,  has byways that are almost deserted apart from the few residents who dwell in the houses lining them.

 

A tulsi tree

Today, we made a second visit to the fort and tried to avoid the busiest lanes as much as possible.  In so doing, we stumbled across two lovely old mandirs (Hindu temples). Both were constructed in the 15th century, long before the fort became a residential area for civilians. 

 

Both mandirs are still used for worship. In one of them, the Laxmi Narayan mandir, two pandits (priests) were having a heated argument  yelling at each other across the courtyard.  At this mandir, there was a tulsi (holy basil) tree, growing in a container, which has small alcoves in which lighted diyas (oil lamps) can be placed. I watched a man walking clockwise around the tulsi tree several times. When he had done this,  he plucked one of its leaves and touched it reverently  against his forehead.

 

The tulsi tree is of religious significance to devout Hindus. I read somewhere that when the Portuguese were occupying Goa and trying to encourage people to become Roman Catholic, tulsi trees were outlawed in that former colony.

 

The courtyard of the Laxmi Narayan was partly shaded by a peepal tree, whose leaves are heart shaped. Like the tulsi tree, the much larger peepal  tree is also of religious significance.

 

The other old temple, which is smaller than it’s neighbour (Laxmi Narayan), is called the Ratneshwar Mahadev. I did not notice any tulsi plants associated with it. However, a peepal was growing next to it.

 

Although both mandirs had visitors,  both locals and tourists, they were less crowded than the much-visited Jain temple with the fort. When we walked past it yesterday, it was literally swarming with tourists.

 

Apart from the spectacular array of finely decorated buildings that can be seen, what makes the fort of Jaisalmer well worth seeing is that it is still home people who live their everyday domestic lives there. Interspersed amongst the many things designed to appeal to tourists, one catches frequent glimpses of local people living their daily lives.

RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY AT A SUFI SHRINE IN RAJASTHAN

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IN MY BOOK “Coracles and Crocodiles: 101 Tales of India”, I have described how practices associated with Hinduism can sometimes be seen in Indian mosques. This is particularly true in the Sufi dargah (shrine) in Ajmer, where Khawaja Gharib Nawaz (1143 – 1236), also known as ‘Muʿīn al-Dīn Chishtī’, buried. According to Wikipedia, he was:

“… one of the first major Islamic mystics to formally allow his followers to incorporate the “use of music” in their devotions, liturgies, and hymns to God, which he did in order to make the ‘foreign’ Arab faith more relatable to the indigenous peoples who had recently entered the religion.”

 

The shrine is in a large compound containing a mosque and other shrines in the heart of Ajmer.

 The dargah compound is much visited, not only by Muslims but also by adherents of other religions: Hindus, Sikhs, etc. Visiting the dargah is considered to be a very special auspicious event. Visitors of all religions buy baskets of red petals to place on the various shrines in the complex. In many places, there are Muslim clerics who bless you by tapping your head with what looks like a large peacock feather duster. In exchange for this benediction, the recipient is expected to leave a financial donation. If the donation is large enough, it and your name will be recorded in a ledger, and you will receive a receipt. If it is insufficient,  the cleric appears to pocket it.

 

Apart from the groups of musicians playing and singing qawwalis (قوّالی). surrounded by appreciative pilgrims seated around them, there were several other things that interested me. All of these can be found in Hindu places of worship. They include burning incense sticks (agarbatti); lighting diyas (oil lamps) and placing them in holders such as can be found in Hindu temples; and tying threads to parts of the shrines.  Another activity that I found unusual in a Muslim place of worship was blessing of pieces of cloth that were then tied around the pilgrim’s head.

 

The atmosphere in the dargah compound was lively and festive. People seemed happy to be there. And surprisingly for someone like me, who is not particularly religious, I  felt that the place seemed very holy. This might be because those around me were at the dargah not as an obligatory ritual but because they believed strongly in its holiness.

[ MY book is available from https://www.amazon.co.uk/CORACLES-CROCODILES-101-TALES-INDIA/dp/B0DJZ6DMYB ]