Last weekend the school organized a tour of Hindu and Sikh temples. I didn't take a whole lot of pictures. Even though we were told that we could photograph everything except certain items, it just feels tacky to be blatantly touristy in somebody's place of worship. Anyway, the students who led the tours did a great job and I'm incredibly thankful that I was one of the relatively few people who decided to seize the opportunity to go.
The Hindu temple was vibrant and noisy, full of people eating, praying and smashing coconuts (to symbolize the breaking apart of the ego). Like the many sculptures and deities, the whole vibe is about the divine manifesting itself in all aspects of life.
The Sikh temple was more solemn (but still beautiful). They also gave us a bhangra dancing lesson and tied turbans for us. Of course, it's usually just men who wear turbans but I wasn't going to miss out on it. One of my friends told me I looked like Simone de Beauvoir... One of the old ladies there was thrilled to see us all with our turbans on. She beamed and matted each of us on the shoulder as we passed. So cute.
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