So, day 2 of India. I woke up earlier then I meant too, but was way too excited to sleep. First thing I did was look outside my window and saw; a park with a big cricket field, a bunch of Indian guys playing cricket, a big German Shepard dog running after the cricket ball, huge skyscrapers barely visible in the smog, and smaller buildings everywhere with people hanging up laundry, building, cleaning, cooking, all on various stories. I wanted to just stand there and stare, but also wanted to go see the temple.
I got ready, went to see Yamuna and Dina, then went onto the rooftop to see the temple compound. It was so much bigger then I thought! But still cozy, clean, and beautiful. I took some pictures from up there, then I went down to see the dieties. Very sweet deities; Gaura Nitai, Sri Sri Radha Parthasarathi, Lalita, Vishaka, and Sita-Rama deities. In front of the temple is a really nice courtyard with a diety of Garuda in the middle, looking towards the entrance door. On both sides of the door are statues of Jai and Vijai. One of the nicest things about the temple is that there is a hallway that goes all the way around the deities so that you can circumambulate them. In the hallway there are pictures of all the deities from around the world on one side, and beautiful paintings of Radha and Krsna on the other side. Really nice place to chant.
of After I went and saw the deities we had breakfast (which was another really opulent thing). We had idli-shaped doklas, (they were juicy not dry), idlis, flat rice with potatoes, soup, fresh fruit, and little bowls with all kinds of nuts. I was already full from the night before, so it was alotprasadam, but all really good. After breakfast, we went to see the museum exhibits on the Bhagavat Gita. They were pretty good, but a little intense. Alot of flashing lights, colors, spotlights, etc. I wasn't allowed to take pictures. The statues and dioramas were really well done though, beautiful.
We rested a little and then it was time for lunch again, this time at Kanai Priya's house. KanaiPriya and his wife are these incredible disciples of Radhanatha Swami. They are the ones that are the parents of Sakshi and Amba. Anyway, Kanai Priya came to get us and bring us to his house. Another crazy trip through Delhi traffic. This time I saw elephants on the side of the road! About 8 of them, all painted and just casually hanging out on the side of this really narrow road. I didn't even see their master or anything. Of course we just honked at them and squeezed by as if it were the most normal thing to do in the world. By the time we got to Kanai Priya's house I didn't feel very hungry anymore. Driving in Delhi is like instant headache and car sickness.
full! Then after that incredible lunch they gave us all these beautiful silk saris! I felt like such a putz. But they were super friendly and wanted to know how the milkmaids were doing and how At Kanai Priya's house they had hung marigold garlands in the doorways, they had decorated the stairway with flower petals and lamps, and as we came up the stairs they showered us with flower petals! The decorations were like right out of the Krsna book! It was pretty embarrassing. They even gave us flower garlands and everything. It was a little overwhelming, especially to see such amazing service attitude. They really are some of the sweetest, humblest and most genuine devotees I have ever met. They sat us down on the couch, pulled out some tables, and started serving us this amazing 13 course lunch. We had: creamy carrot soup, dhal, lotus root soup, corn kernels stir-fried, green beans also stir-fried, steamed broccoli and baby corn, okra, fried potatoes and bitter-melon, super soft chapatis, rice, potato papadams, coconut-dhanya chutney, fresh water chestnuts, and fruit custard. (The water chestnuts are the weirdest thing I have ever seen, they are in this lumpy green shell, kindof looks like a frog, but so good!) I just took a tiny bit of everything and I was soo full. They were super friendly and kind, asking about how everyone was doing in Saranagati, especially the milkmaids. It felt like I had known them forever or something. They even gave us these incredibly beautiful silk saris! When we left they were giving us big hugs, smiling, laughing, waving to us all the way to the car, all the way until we couldn't see them anymore.
It was pretty dark by the time we got back and we were so exhausted by then that we pretty much just went to bed. I found the blankets this time. Hmmm, some more things. There were flowers, garlands, tulsi plants, everywhere. Even on the busiest highway of Delhi, cows and bulls just hang out calmly on the side, in the middle, or crossing the roads. They are the only things that don't get honked at. Lots of dogs too, and still so smogy. All the trees looked gray from the dirt on their leaves.
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