Travel-Blogue Day 10: Church

Posted by: Steve Hamm on July 27

I’m a religious omnivore, with interest in Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, and Voodoo. (My true religion, the one I really believe in, is Progressivism, which I define as living life in a way that improves the lives of humans and safeguards the environment. Ergo, politically, I’m a Democrat.) So when I travel I often stop in at the local place of worship. In this case, this Sunday morning, it’s the Sree Venkateshwara Temple on small but steep hill in the middle of Hyderabad. It’s just a kilometer from my hotel.

A visit to the Sree Venkateshwara Temple is a full sensual experience. The journey starts in a steep alleyway that climbs the hill. Shops line both sides and there’s a steady stream of temple-goers passing by.

This visit to the temple tends to be a family outing. Music blares from speakers attached to poles. People stop and buy souveniers and inexpensive jewelry.

I would say that Indians love trinkets.

One woman sold tin plates with holes punched in them in ornate designs. People use these to spread rice flower on the ground in front of their homes—a Hindu offering to the ants.

You leave your cell phone, camera, and shoes in a hut and make the final climb up to the temple grounds, a beautifully landscaped cap of rock and white marble buildings.

In one of the shrines, a family was celebrating an elderly relative’s 87th birthday. They prayed to the god Shiva, bringer of health and long life. Seven priests dressed in tan robes sat on the marble around a low table laden with rice, coconuts, and fruit. Up another hundred steps was the main building, a shine to Lord Sri Venkateswara Balaji. It features a huge statue of the lord clad in gold, with a polished black stone face. On a nearby patio there are panels carved in stone explaining Christianity, Judaism, and Confusianism.

Down below, I checked out a shop where they sold books, cards, statues, and framed statues that had blinking lights around the frames. Here’s me:

From an overlook, there were panoramic views of the city. One of the most impressive sights in Hyderabad is a huge stone statue of Buddha that’s set on an island in the middle of the lake that the city surrounds.

I was struck by the spirit of religious plurality that’s on display in the city. Yet the tensions between Hindus and Muslims are high. In the past few days, in other Indian cities, bombs apparently set by Muslim extremists went off in crowded public spaces, killing and injuring scores of people. This is one of the reasons I believe in Progressivism. No killing of humans involved.

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