Fun-fair Ganesha
Popular places of Hindu worship, with their newly created temples and statues of the gods, are more often than not in bad taste. At Hardwar for example, where this picture was taken, there is a long row of new temples that seem to compete for first prize in cheap and kitschy design. How come? These monuments are bound to reflect popular taste, the choice of the builders and the nouveau riche Indians who donate part of their, probably ill-gotten, wealth for their construction. Walking along with thousands of others, among such a hotchpotch of colourful structures, it feels like I’m in an amusement park; the common face of fun-fair Hinduism.
Photo of the week: Hardwar, India, 1995
καιρός remembered 
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