The Tourist as Pilgrim 
Most of the pilgrims pass on through 
an empty outer courtyard and enter the 
next gopuram, eager to get to the 
shrines. They jostle each other, joke 
and laugh, pose for photographs. But a 
few, in a more reflective mood, just 
stand on the inside, looking up at the 
next gateway, reading its intricately 
carved face as though it were a book, 
letting each image tell its story. And of 
these reflective pilgrims, a few will then 
begin the parikrama, or “circumambu- 
lation,” of the outer courtyard, walking 
slowly in the prescribed clockwise fash- 
ion. Sometimes the outer walls are sur- 
mounted by a seemingly endless suc- 
cession of carved bulls; otherwise there 
is nothing to look at except the bare 
I stonework and the sky above. Like 
tourists, all the pilgrims have been 
drawn by the same outer objectives — to 
see the same sights, enjoy the same 
spectacles, participate in the same plea- 
surable activities — but each does it in 
« his or her own way, each finding the es- 
i sence that makes the visit worthwhile. 
Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to 
classify the pilgrim as religious and the 
tourist as secular. The tourists who, 
rather than going straight into a casino, 
stop to enjoy the gardens outside, might 
be said to be closer to a religious experi- 
ence than those pilgrims who purchase 
a garland of flowers at the outer gate, 
head straight through to the innermost 
shrine, and so to speak, place their bet 
on the altar before doing anything else. 
Nor should the various ritual observ- 
ances that many pilgrims perform 
make it seem that they are exclusively 
devotional. The pilgrim slowly circum- 
ambulating the temple’s first empty 
courtyard, quietly chanting the scrip- 
tures, may be just as excited as any 
tourist. Some may even have to work 
hard to keep their minds on the sacred 
and avoid the distractions of the many 
sideshows the larger temples have to of- 
fer. There is, for instance, a particularly 
arduous way of performing the parik- 
rama, which really should be done in 
each courtyard until the central shrine 
itself has been reached. Prostrated full 
length, face down on the ground, arms 
outstretched, pilgrims inch their way 
upward and forward until they are 
standing where their hands had 
touched; then they prostrate them- 
selves again. This practice, called sash- 
tanga danda pradakshina, is not often 
seen. On the few occasions that it can be 
observed, however, it appears to be not 
a penance but rather a way of savoring 
the pleasure of pilgrimage to its fullest, 
of exhausting every possible delight be- 
fore coming to the greatest joy of all, 
puja at the main shrine, which becomes 
a veritable ecstasy. 
The more obvious enjoyments are 
many. In some inner courtyards there 
are huge pillared hallways that may be 
used as bazaars where shopkeepers sell 
replicas of the various shrines, colorful 
pictures of scenes from the Hindu my- 
thology, icons carved from stone or 
sandalwood, rosaries, and other reli- 
gious mementos that pilgrims take 
home, like tourist trinkets, to remind 
them of a special and sacred moment in 
their lives. But there are also things to 
take back to enrich normal, daily, secu- 
lar life: clothing to be worn every day, 
shoulder bags in which to carry' school- 
books or the day’s shopping, bright 
jewelry with not a trace of religious 
symbolism. All these serve as a remind- 
er of sanctity, just as vacationers like to 
have something to remind them of their 
“holiday,” a word that is, after all, de- 
rived from the Old English haligdaeg, 
or “holy day.” 
Some temples house elephants or 
other animals; many have whole areas 
filled with monkeys. The animals pro- 
vide entertainment, and the elephants, 
in particular, are paraded frequently 
for the crow'ds to watch. (Once in a 
while elephants are hitched to enor- 
mous chariots that carry sacred images 
from the temple out into the streets.) 
There may also be bathing tanks or spe- 
cial wells from which, according to in- 
clination and means, the pilgrim can 
drink or be sprinkled or thoroughly 
drenched with holy water. The temple 
as a place of entertainment is one of the 
INDIA. 
WHERE WE ARE 
DIFFERENT 
WHERE WE ARE 
THE SAME. 
Our cities are exciting mixtures of the o*d and new 
India. An unbelievable experience 
We are as different as you hope. 
Come to us and view palaces, tombs, 
fortresses. Shop in brilliant bazaars. 
Enjoy our art. listen to our music, feel 
our dances. 
You will see sights you've never seen, 
new colors and shapes. You will hear 
new sounds, taste new tastes. 
But we have another surprise for you. 
too. 
We are the same as well as different. 
We can make you extraordinarily 
comfortable. You'll stay in modern, air- 
conditioned hotels. Play golf, tennis. 
Swim in cool pools. 
And most of our people speak English. 
Come to us on one of the many, many 
tours offered. We'll make you feel very 
different. And very much at home. 
UNBELIEVABLE 
INDIA 
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Please send me information on 
Unbelievable India 
NH9 
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