Mim

Adventures on the Road to Murree from Islamabad! So, the steep, narrow, curvy, and perilous mountain road leading up from Islamabad to the cool mountain-top town of Murree is, well, steep, narrow, and perilous. The road to Murree is also filled with large commercial trucks that are rolling folk art, wonderfully painted, and dazzlingly decorated. They are also often old and tired. Metal chains dangle and clang as the trucks struggle and strain to go up hills. If you are behind one of them, the people in your rear-view window become increasingly agitated if you don't pass them. There were some other factors to consider as well: (1) a steering wheel on the right hand side, (2) a stick shift in your left hand, and most importantly, (3) oncoming traffic, which means on the right hand ... read more

There are several small, open air Hindu temples, such as the one below, which is in a downtown business district. This allows people to make puja on their way to work, during a break, or after work. A friend asked the priest permission for me to take photos of him and his small temple. He agreed but then made a big show of my coming up to the altar wherein he put the red kum kum on my forehead. In addition, most of the Hindu taxi drivers had little altars or shrines on their dashboards. Some were quite elaborate and fancy. At night, some of the dashboard altars had little lights, which made sense since it was quite unlikely that the taxi driver used his actual headlights. Also, there were lots of roadside shrines and people ... read more

Near what I believe is the oldest Hindu temple in Mumbai (the Mumba Devi Temple--which is what gave Mumbai its name) and the Crawford Market (huge market for veggies and household goood) is another Jain temple. And much of this seemed to be a fairly Muslim neighborhood. This Jain temple is less opulent than the Babu Amichand Panalal Adishwarji Jain Temple at Malabar Hill in Mumbai. Although they weren't too keen on having a bunch of photographs taken inside, I was able to snap off a few and I tried not to annoy anyone. Outside, the facade of the temple was intricately carved marble and they were in the middle of doing some remodeling or updating. The columns were intricately and wonderfully carved. It was not as quiet as the other Jain temple, and some people ... read more

For a while, I was staying at Juhu Beach in Mumbai, which is north of Mumbai proper. In this and other areas, the autorickshaw provides inexpensive but often frightening transportation. Basically, they are three-wheeled open air contraptions with space for two sensible adults or more if you are a little nuts. They are powered by a motor plant approximately appropriate for a lawnmower. Apparently, the idea is to see who can fit through the tiniest space and do so as quickly as possible. They glide through people crossing the street, and seem to magically squeeze between the next rickshaw or car. I have had to up my Xanax prescription for this experience. In Mumbai proper, the taxicab is the dominant auto on the road. They are tiny little things-- very narrow and short. I keep hitting ... read more

Yet another in a series of ill-advised, poorly-planned, and hastily-assembled journeys by a fallen-away ex-Catholic -- this time straight to the heart of Hinduism, Bollywood, and lots of terror threats. With pretty pictures, a wealth of inaccuracies, and without the benefit of spell-check. Visit to a Jain temple. Jainism is a religion and philosophy originating in ancient India. Jainism believes that the universe and all its substances are eternal. It has no beginning or end. There is no need for someone to create or manage the universe. The universe runs on its own accord by its own cosmic laws. Hence Jainism does not believe in God as a creator or destroyer of the universe. However Jainism does believe in God. When a living being destroys all his karmas, he possesses perfect knowledge, vision, power, and bliss. ... read more