full moon pradachana

this was the beginning of our 8 mile pardachana" on the evening of the full moon. these are my new friends adia laksmi and rishi. the walk was truly amazing. we started off at this temple and made g to then goddess om shakti (a local favorite) we walked as the sun sun set and the yellow full moon slipped in and out ohe clouds. literally, tens of thousand of people descend on this village to walked around the mound. the atmosphere become almost carnival like with then road side lined with naked, ash covered holy man asking for money, food stalls and of course cheap trinket sellers. we stopped at a tiny temple to nandi the bull 9he is shivas mount) you line up, through some camphor into a brazier, bless your self with the flames and whisper your deepest wishes into nandis ear. he faces the mountain and directly relays your message to shiva. people are almost frantic as they walk and chant, children with radiant faces race over to you and shake your hand and ask where you are from. they love to practice their english. there is another temple every four feet with their devotees offering camphor and circumabulting the temple. at one point the electricity cut out and all you could see was the full moon moving in and out of the clouds directly over the top of the mountain. my legs hurt like hell after, but it was all very worth it.