Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2017/07/09
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Douglas, Luis Thanks for looking. Will change the date, Thanks! Douglas, about your queries. They have to cart the idol a distance of around 3-4 kilometres, once around the temple, and it takes around 2.5-3 hours.. It still is quite an effort. If you look carefully, you can see great, huge big weals on their shoulders of the men actually doing the carrying. One of the guys in the "Cooling Off" photograph has impressive ones! The Hindu Pantheon also has three apex gods - Brahma, the creator; Vishnu, the preserver; Shiva the destroyer, supposedly the three faces of the supreme being. Brahma, for some strange reason, has only one functioning temple in all of India, in a place called Pushkar, famous for its annual Camel Fair. The other two are worshiped across the length and breadth of the country. The markings are simple, and almost a case of tribal identity - vertical lines on the temple denote followers of Vishnu, and horizontal lines the followers of Shiva. This is a slightly exaggerated version, consistent with a more conservative bent of a generally accommodating religion - it is not a tuning fork, but a trident. The normal ones are like this: Shaivite: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Mylapore/Mylapore-20161225-063.jpg.html Vaishnavite: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Mylapore/Mylapore-20161225-066.jpg.html Cheers Jayanand On Sun, Jul 9, 2017 at 10:19 PM, Douglas Barry <imra at iol.ie> wrote: > Some great images there, Jayanand. The lens appears to be a cracker. How > far do they have to carry the idol, as from your images, it looks a lot of > work? And the tuning fork markings on some people's foreheads, what do they > symbolise? > BTW some of your images are labelled July 2014. I like the line up in > "Cooling Off". > > Douglas > > > > On 06/07/2017 17:54, Jayanand Govindaraj wrote: > >> This week heralds a major annual festival, Shri Narasimha Swami >> Bhrahmotsavam at the 8th century Sri Parthasarathy Swamy Temple, which I >> have been photographing for years. I normally go with one lens - today was >> the turn of the stunning Fujinon 90mm f2 lens on the Fuji X-T2, and I was >> shooting it only at wide apertures. In other words this was going to be a >> street portrait session! >> >> This is a large set, so please bear with me! >> >> The idol in the temple is carried in a huge palanquin with a few priests >> on >> board around the perimeter of the temple by volunteers. It is an >> exhausting >> task, and at any point of time there must be 20-25 men physically carrying >> the extremely heavy load. >> >> The temple elders generally chant the religious shlokas (Sanskrit >> couplets) >> and walk in front: >> >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Triplican >> e/Triplicane-20170706-009_01.jpg.html >> >> The Head Priest on top, with the idol: >> >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Triplican >> e/Triplicane-20170706-024_01.jpg.html >> >> The pain and strain of carting the idol around is only too visible: >> >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Triplican >> e/Triplicane-20170706-042_01.jpg.html >> >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Triplican >> e/Triplicane-20170706-094_01.jpg.html >> >> Every few hundred metres, there is a short break for rest, and a longer >> break half way: >> >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Triplican >> e/Triplicane-20170706-023_01.jpg.html >> >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Triplican >> e/Triplicane-20170706-153_01.jpg.html >> >> I generally convert to B&W when there are too many distracting colours in >> the background: >> >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Triplican >> e/Triplicane-20170706-122_01.jpg.html >> >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Triplican >> e/Triplicane-20170706-147_01.jpg.html >> >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Triplican >> e/Triplicane-20170706-039_01.jpg.html >> >> There is a brass marching band enlivening the proceedings: >> >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Triplican >> e/Triplicane-20170706-074_01.jpg.html >> >> The faithful wait at different points to see the entourage pass by: >> >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Triplican >> e/Triplicane-20170706-057_01.jpg.html >> >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Triplican >> e/Triplicane-20170706-071_01.jpg.html >> >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Triplican >> e/Triplicane-20170706-064_01.jpg.html >> >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Triplican >> e/Triplicane-20170706-179_01.jpg.html >> >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Triplican >> e/Triplicane-20170706-006_01.jpg.html >> >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Triplican >> e/Triplicane-20170706-047_01.jpg.html >> >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Triplican >> e/Triplicane-20170706-166_01.jpg.html >> >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Triplican >> e/Triplicane-20170706-172_01.jpg.html >> >> Please see LARGE >> >> Comments and criticism, as ever, welcome (with emphasis on the latter!) >> >> Cheers >> Jayanand >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >> >> >> > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >