Forts, Temples And A Roman Catholic Cathedral

It has taken several days with van, train and plane trips to work our way up the east coast of India along the Bay of Bengal.

After a 13 hour overnight train we arrived at Hyderabad–an industrial and high tech city of about 9 million people. These are some pictures of a train (all the trains have so many cars I couldn’t count them) and me set up in my sleeper. I sleep surprisingly well to the rocking, swaying and “clackity clack”:

This city is famous for its’ past as a medieval capital and the well preserved Golconda Fort that was built in the 16th century. They area around the fort had diamond mines. The Hope Diamond is reputed to be from one of the mines. There was a large diamond market in the fort:

In the hub of the city is the mogul inspired “Arc de Triomphe of the East”:

At the base of this monument are a plethora of stalls and food vendors in the Lead Bazaar:

After a quick plane ride to Puri we were back on the coast. The surf was very rough due to a cyclone that has been “brewing” in the Bay of Bengal:

We took a walk along a beach not know for swimming and sun bathing but for fishing. The fishermen and their families live in huts on the sand next to their boats and nets. The women set up roadside stands to sell the catch:

There are not many Roman Catholics in India but during the period of Portuguese control missionaries converted a significant number of followers. The apostle Saint Thomas lived and led a congregation in Chennai. He is buried in the cathedral. His tomb and relics are on display:

The city of Puri is a pilgrimage site for Hindi followers. There is a massive temple that is only open to Hindi worshipers. These are the three gods who are on view at this Temple:This temple serves 100,000 meals everyday prepared by 400 chiefs and volunteers:

We also visited an arts and craft village and received a dance presentation. The dancers are boys who have not reached puberty. At some point in the past there was a ban placed on female dancing so the King at that time replaced women with boys. Today, boys are sent to live in this village and attend school while practising dance about 4 hours a day. The troupe performs throughout India at recitals and in temples. The dancing was very athletic and enjoyable:

We also got a chance to visit a house/studio of a local village painter. I have decided that my favorite god is Ganesh–with the elephant nose. He is the God of luck and the remover of obstacles. I purchased a hand painted picture of this god for about $6.50. The painter told me that it two days to do this image on silk:

I have had my tee shirts and slacks washed several times since I arrived in India. It cost about $.50 per piece. I didn’t use this laundry that we passed during our van ride back to Puri:

Our next adventure started with an 8 hour train ride–breakfast and lunch on board. It was a good time to watch Netflix downloads and take a little nap. It’s on to Kolkata.