Monkeys, Bindis, and Hindu Gods

We traveled to Haridwar, which is located at the foothills of the Himalaya mountains and along the Ganges river, in northern India last week. We spent most of the day being shown various canals, dams, and hydrologic structures that were built along the tributary rivers leading to the Ganges, or the Ganga, as it is called here.

After seeing more canals and bridges in one day than I thought was possible, we took a break from our water studies to drive up a mountain and visit a Hindu temple. We were carried up to the top of the mountain by cable car, from which we could see hundreds of monkeys throughout the trees we were passing over. Although we were all excited to finally be seeing so many monkeys, we were all a little uneasy because the signs everywhere saying “Beware of Monkeys.” We were continually instructed not to make eye contact, carry any food with us, or take any direct pictures of them because that might instigate an incident—particularly purse and/or camera thievery. I did see a small “gang” of three or four monkeys surround a young mother and her two kids, and steal the street food snack one of the children had been eating. I also saw a monkey go up to a woman and grab her shiny sequined scarf and try to pull it off of her, but this monkey was beaten away by the woman’s husband and his quick reflex to grab a stick. As a result, I don’t have many good photos of them because I was trying so hard to not initiate any attention or trouble from them!

To enter this mountain top temple, you must show respect by removing your shoes (which at first really bothered me, but I have since gotten over, as I visit more and more places in India where this is required). After you walk through the temple and are handed some puffed rice that you can leave as an offering to one of the god statues, there are several shrines where you can enter to be “blessed.” This consists of entering into a small room where a holy man has his shrine/alter, telling him your name, him tying a ribbon around your wrist, chanting a blessing (that includes your name), patting you on the back three times with a stick, and dipping his finger in bright red dye which he uses to mark a little red dot in between your eyebrows—also known as a bindi.

There are several major Hindi gods which are represented by these holy men and their alters, and you choose from which god you want your blessing depending on what you need in your life that day. (Or, you can go get a blessing from each of them—as long as you pay the tiny blessing “donation” at each alter, which some of the boys in our group definitely did.) Meagan and I chose to visit the Monkey god, Hanuman, because we were hoping his blessing would provide us with protection from his live counterparts whom were just outside the temple doors. (So far, his blessing has worked wonderfully…) This god is known for loyalty, selfless service, and learning—which we found quite appropriate too.

I’ve included a picture of a huge statue of another Hindu god, Shiva, who is known for his dualist nature as a destroyer and benefactor. We saw the statue of this god from a top a huge bridge we were visiting over the Ganga, and then later we could see the same enormous statue from the back, when we were in Haridwar.

In the evening after visiting the temple, we arrived to the town center of Haridwar. We witnessed a daily ceremony where leaf and flower lanterns are lit and released to float down the Ganga at sunset. Despite being a week night, and not a “warm” time of year (still extremely mild to our group of Iowans), the streets were packed with people waiting to witness the ceremony. It was difficult to see all the lanterns actually being released in the river because of how many people were there, but it was a pretty magical experience nonetheless. That night we had our first taste of haggling in the market place, and many of the girls in our class fell in love with the thrill of negotiating a great deal.