Feast for Thought

Are our temples too benevolent and too sacred to be maintained physically clean? Why do pilgrims travel far and wide, in an effort to cleanse their souls while caring a hoot for the surroundings they visit? Be it Sabarimala, or Rameswaram, or any other holy abode of the Lord, pilgrims leave too many tell-tale (tell-truth actually) signs of their visit: used food packages, used clothes, used water bottles, and the worst habit of all: human expectorated spittle all over the place. Rama theertham (most holy, but nearly dead) There are well over 50 theerthams in the holy town of Rameswaram. 22 of them are located within the main temple and several more are scattered  over a few km distance in multiple directions. Most of the ones frequented by tourists show plenty of signs of poor maintenance and care, by both authorities and tourists. At the Rama Theertham, no fish survives in the pond, you can see a few live ones struggling in a bucketful of water for the purpose of b...

Truly bemused. At the multiple versions of progress and development in my country. We 'progressed' from a smaller car to a small car about 10 years ago, that takes us conveniently on short road-trips to simple destinations, for down-to-earth purposes. Roads, cars, water Earlier this week, we traveled to Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi to take in sights of the bluest expanse of seas, temples tiny and huge, holy theerthams, cyclone-ravaged ruins, and awesome achievements in infrastructure. Salt in the making  A modified salt-making process could provide potable water, surely? Ruins at Dhanushkodi Azure seas - sight for city-sore eyes, but livelihood for fisherfolk  For faster and smoother progress But with the senses long awakened to the rather obvious 'downsides' of tourism, we have returned with less solace (not that we went seeking any). Women and girls with water pots in their hand and heads are a familiar sight all over arid regions in Indi...