Mala, symbol of luck, happiness and respect

Streets are full of marigold garlands on sale at the Divali eve

Flowers in Hinduism are symbol of creation and regeneration. Perhaps that is why they are the most common decoration material in India and Nepal. And the most popular form of the floral decorations is the garland, or flower necklace, called mala in Nepal and the northern India, and malai in the southern India. During the festival season houses are decorated with flower garlands, they are offered to a temple deity, they are presented to honorary guests as a sign of respect. During the wedding ceremony both bride and groom wear them as good-luck symbols. After a theatrical performance, appreciation to an actor, dancer or musician is expressed by the bestowal of a flower garland.

Cow worship in Hinduism

I believe everyone knows that cow in Hinduism is a sacred animal. For ages cow has been important in the lives of the Indians. They use milk as food, cow-dung as fuel and, if mixed with clay, for plastering huts. Cows play a role of a dowry for daughters and a bribe for Brahmans for a place in paradise. Another reason why the cow is considered sacred is based on the belief that Hindus can reach heaven only after crossing a mythological river, and to cross this river is possible only by holding the tail of the cow.

The Indian moustaches

photo courtesy Dr.Umesh Behari Mathur

In no other country in the world you will see such a variety of moustaches as in India in spite of them slowly coming out of fashion here too. Traditionally moustaches were seen as a sign of virility in India and an indicator of high caste. The way moustaches were grown - upwards, downwards or across - was a visual sign of a person’s position in society: untouchables, for example, were not permitted to have a mustache at all, while other lower castes had to grow theirs with the ends drooped.

Vintage Indian beauties in sari

Snake worship in Hinduism

Serpent sculpture in Sankhu, Nepal

Snake is an object of worship in different forms among the Hindus. It ranks sacred, second only to the cow. Snakes called Nagas are usually represented as gigantic cobras with several hoods, or with a human head and serpent body. In almost all of southern India the serpent is worshiped in its original form either through images representing serpents or actually as live serpents residing in holes within the shrines or outdoor anthills where they are supposed to live.

Chamunda, the terrifying goddess

Chamunda, India, Madhya Pradesh, 10th–11th century, sandstone. Metropolitan Museum of Art  

Chamunda is the dreadful goddess of death and destruction in Hindu mythology. So no wonder she is one of the most horrid looking deity in the Hindu pantheon. Standing on a corpse of a man or seated on defeated demons or a corpse, she has a skeletal body with three eyes, a terrifying face, drooping breasts, protruding teeth, long nails and a sunken belly. She wears a garland of severed heads or skulls. She has four, eight, ten or twelve arms, holding a drum, trident, sword, a snake, skull-mace, thunderbolt, a severed head and drinking vessel or skull-cup, filled with blood. Chamunda is depicted adorned by ornaments of bones, skulls, serpents and scorpions, symbols of disease and death. Her hair is piled up into a chignon tied with snakes and decorated with a tiara of skulls. Sometimes, a crescent moon is seen on her head.

Dilwara temples, a dream in marble

The Dilwara temples at Mount Abu, Rajasthan, India stand in a beautiful green valley surrounded by forested hills. These Jain  temples have rather plain exteriors that give no hint of the magnificent world being hidden inside. This symbolizes the Jain belief in the insignificance of outward forms and the importance of a rich inner life. A dazzling interior of pure white marble is carved with such amazing virtuosity that it is hard to believe that such perfection and beauty could be created out of stone by human hands.

Temple of the fish-eyed goddess

photo courtesy Delphinidaesy

Every day thousands of piligrims from all over India flock to Madurai, the third largest city in the state of Tamil Nadu. They want to see the famous Meenakshi-Sundareshwara temple, one of the most beautiful temples in India and one of the most sacred places.
Meenakshi means the fish-eyed goddess, she was a Pandyan princess born out of the fire with three breasts. The astrologers predicted that the third breast would disappear when the princess would meet her husband. And it happened so when Meenakshi met Shiva who married her as Sundareshwara. The two ruled Madurai as king and queen. The temple is dedicated to both of them and though Sundareshwara has a larger shrine, Meenakshi is always worshiped first.

Hindu forehead marks

Sadhu, the follower of Shiva. Photo courtesy Pierre-Emmanuel BOITON

Hindus regard the forehead as a pure part of the body and many of them wear a colourful mark there. Such marks are especially important for members of different religious communities. Each sect has its own marking by which its member can be easily identified. Followers of Vishnu use mainly vertical marks. It can be just one vertical line or more usually there are two parallel lines with a black dot or open circle between or under them. The dot represents the deity, the circle is a unit of perfection, without beginning or end.

Laxmi Villas Palace of Baroda

Laxmi Villas Palace in Baroda was considered at the time to be the most expensive building erected by a private individual in the 19th century. It was designed by Major Charles Mant of the Royal Engineers for Maharajah of Baroda and built in 1880-90. The building blends Mughal and Rajput styles with European elements.