It is the month of “Karthigai” which is significant. We light lamps every day, inside and outside the house. (See this link for details.)
Here’s mine. I arrange the oil lamps on a plate for easier handling.
When my Mom was alive, she would celebrate it in a big way, since it is also a festival that honors brothers. We make a lot of yummy eats. Oh yes, all Hindu festivals are characterized by eating and being merry.
Here’s a picture that fascinated me. That’s a stack of firewood at the Udupi Krishna temple. The deity is very very beautiful and the story associated with it is even lovelier. Couldn’t get a pic of that, though. The temple is about 1500 years old and built entirely of wood. I couldn’t get enough of this stack, though. It is quite massive, as you can see.
Thank you, Unknown Mami, for hosting Sundays in my City.
Cheers!
Vidya
24 Comments
oceangirl
November 6, 2011 at 12:59 pmHi. The lights look really pleasing and peaceful. Happy celebration. It is nice to visit.
Tina´s PicStory
November 6, 2011 at 1:45 pmnice shots!
My Inner Chick
November 6, 2011 at 5:30 pmI Love your Sunday Photos.
I love candles & light.
They are a remembrance of HOPE.
Love to you, My Dear, Vidya. x
And the Temple. Can you pray inside of it?
Tara R.
November 6, 2011 at 1:39 pmYour lamp shots are so pretty. The glow of the flames is mesmerizing.
sheila
November 6, 2011 at 8:32 pmWow, and I thought MY woodpile was a good size, lol THAT PILE IS HUGE!! 🙂
Love looking at your lamp photos, what a beautiful way to celebrate!
StarTraci
November 6, 2011 at 4:50 pmI love the candles. I light candles in my home everyday, it just seems to warm the heart and the home.
Happy Sunday!
🙂
Traci
Vidya Sury
November 6, 2011 at 5:01 pmThanks Tara. It may sound strange, but there’s peace in lighting them 🙂 It is part of our worship.
Vidya Sury
November 6, 2011 at 5:02 pmHi Tina! Thanks. Your blog is always such a pleasure to visit.
Vidya Sury
November 6, 2011 at 5:08 pmTraci – I loved your deer. Yes, lamps warm the heart.
Vidya Sury
November 6, 2011 at 5:10 pm@oceangirl – thanks for visiting. you have a fabulous blog. I enjoyed reading “Blue” today.
Vidya Sury
November 6, 2011 at 5:43 pmKim! Yes, one can pray inside the temple. Very close to the deity if we slip the priest a couple of Gandhis (read Cash ;-)) I just love my lamps. I’ve got all sorts – brass, copper, silver and terra cotta.
Unknown Mami
November 6, 2011 at 6:32 pmAs far as I’m concerned, it’s not a celebration without something yummy to eat.
tsonodablog
November 7, 2011 at 2:49 amLove the lights, Vidya! Thank you for these lovely pictures and a little peek into your world. The firewood just blew me away! How unique!
Vidya Sury
November 7, 2011 at 3:14 am@Unknown Mami – we live by that principle. The thing is, even mourning involves celebration-type situations. When someone dies, people get together and socialize.
Vidya Sury
November 7, 2011 at 3:15 am@Sheila – that pile was from the second floor upwards 🙂 Good to see you here! I’d love to see your woodpile!
Vidya Sury
November 7, 2011 at 3:16 am@Terri! I’ve realized that when we’re ready to look – there’s lots of unique stuff around!
Kristin - The Goat
November 7, 2011 at 6:02 amThat’s quite a tower of wood and beautiful, too.
Vidya Sury
November 7, 2011 at 6:04 amThank you, Kristin. Always a pleasure to see the changing beautiful headers on your blog.
Angela Artemis/Powered by Intuition
November 7, 2011 at 3:02 pmVidya,
Thank you for sharing this beautiful custom with us. I love the little oil lamps. When I first went to Greece to visit my relatives in 1974 I was shown something similar. There’s a little plant that makes a leathery seed after it blooms. It’s large about a 1/2 inch. Islanders (Samothraki – where the Winged Victory, AKA Niki statue was found) place these seed pods in olive oil (what else!) and then light the pod. It burns for hours and hours as long as you add more oil.
Vidya Sury
November 7, 2011 at 3:22 pmThat is very interesting, Angela. You know, we get all kinds of combination oils here, especially for the lamp. Each oil has some significance and benefit for one’s soul, as a reward for using it to light the lamp. Customs enthrall me. Thank you for visiting.
Betsy at Zen-Mama
November 11, 2011 at 1:43 amYour lamps are beautiful. I’d love to have some of those for celebrating here. I love seeing your life in India. Thanks for sharing a piece of your life.
Vidya Sury
November 11, 2011 at 3:18 amThank you Betsy. Consider visiting some time. 🙂
Kaylen
November 13, 2011 at 2:37 amI’ve never seen lights like this before! Smart idea-super pretty!!!
My son is going to be visiting India for a week next year – Keep an eye out for the handsome young man named Andrew! 🙂
Vidya Sury
November 13, 2011 at 2:42 amHi Kaylen! Thanks for visiting. I just went and read your post about your “baby”. I often wonder, where does the time fly? I dote on my son, who’ll be 14 in ten days :-). Sure I’ll look out for a “handsome young man named Andrew”. I hope he has a wonderful trip and enjoys our country!