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Another
factor deserves mention now. I included some temples that burst into lime light
periodically, but disappear as instantly as they emerge. But their pull far,
exceeds that of the age old temples. Even in opulence and pomp. Better add
public participation spending lakhs on them. Alas! they last for a week or so.
They are called 'Melas' or 'Jatras'. They confine themselves mostly to grama
devatas - village deities. In some parts of our Bharat, these popular deities
hold their durbar once a year, yet people will be counting minutes for their
reappearance again after the din and bustle dies down. As they turn out gala
days with multiplicity of odd and crude traditions characteristic of the
locality the fervour for visitation and adoration by the public defies
description. India ness excludes in every item of their activity and presents a
grand colourful spectable of Hinduism, capable of supplying abundant material for
research and composition to artistes of many types if preferred.
I
made a deliberate attempt to including a few temples in ruins also, since their
past glory was spectacular and its disappearance either due to the fury of
elements, or to the bigotry of iconoclasts is quite awe-some, besides heart
rending.
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