India Pictures - matthewramage.commatthewramage.com

Some of us took upwards of 1,000 pictures, and here I’ve posted just “a few” so as to tell our India story in a little more detail. Later I’ll collect some of the best taken from others in our group and get them up as well. UPDATE: For other pictures of the BC 2013 India odyssey, click here and here. My travelogue can be found here and here.

: Old Jewish quarterin Cochi, S. India — the Europeans who came here truly must have thought it was “God’s own country.”

: Baha’i Lotus Temple, Delhi

: Mother Teresa’s tomb, Calcutta

: Drinking fresh cocunut milk at the Syro-Malankara seminary in Trivandrum

: Jama Masjid mosque, Delhi

: Ancient Hindu temples, Mahabalipuram

: Gandhi’s tomb, Delhi

: Massive Buddha in Bodh Gaya; when on this sidewalk a little girl turned around saw us white people, she turned ran away screaming

: Beach in Chennai, southeast coast

: Hotel room overlooking the Ganges, Varanasi

: Monument on the site of St. Thomas’ martyrdom, Chennai

: Somehow this stone has never rolled down the hill, Mahabalipuram

: Sunset worship (aarti) on the Ganges

: Jama Masjid mosque, Delhi

: Random monkey, Jaipur

: 24/7 Cremations on the Ganges

: Fatehpur Sikri, palace of Mughal emperor Akbar in the 1500s

: Sea routes by which St. Thomas would have arrived in India

: Ancient Hindu temples, Mahabalipuram

: Meeting with His Beatitude George Cardinal Alencherry, head of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church

: Syro-Malankara bishops’ meeting hall, Cochi

: Indian boys admiring our ladies on the beach in Cochi

: View of Ganges from our hotel, Varanasi

: Jain temple, Calcutta

: Moonlight view of Ganges votive candles upon the water

: Our Lady of Velankanni shrine, “Lourdes of the East”

: Train life

: International shrine of St. Thomas the Apostle, site of his burial

: Qutub Minar, Muslim imperial palace with tallest minaret in India

: Mary statue inside a great fish restaurant, Cochi

: Chapel where Our Lady appeared and healed a lame child, Velankanni

: “Third eye” painted on me by a Hindu priest (without me asking, by the way, but still cool)

: Taj Mahal–even more majestic than I had expected

: Entry gate to Taj Mahal

: Our youth riding on an ancient Hindu lion in Mahabalipuram

: Another view of the Taj

: Typical vegetarian dish–most restaurants are “veg,” and “non veg” is the exception

: Typical central worship space in a Buddhist temple, Bodh Gaya

: In India, cars WANT you to honk at them

: View of Ganges from hotel, Varanasi

: Samosa

: Our Lady of Velankanni shrine

: Hanging out in the run-down train station with the cows, Mathura

: Cremations on the Ganges

: Meeting with Syro-Malabar auxiliary bishop, Cochi

: Buddhist temple, Bodh Gaya

: Typical taxi life

: View of the main gate looking back from the Taj Mahal mausoleum

: Two crosses, one for Christ and the other for St. Thomas who participated in Christ’s passion on this very spot

: One of the best fish dishes I’ve ever eaten–fresh Mahi for about only $3

: Statue in front of which St. Francis Xavier prayed, Chennai

: Just to prove how close traffic gets to you in India

: Muslims worshiping inside the mosque at Fatehpur Sikri

: Buddhist monks praying beside the Bodhi Tree where Buddha attained Enlightenment

: BC India 2013 on the beach in Trivandrum

: Random family who sat their kid on my lap when I was sitting on some stairs–nice to be famous!

: Red Fort, Delhi

: Majestic gate to the palace in Fatehpur Sikri

: Spraying (in our face) for mosquitos

: Typical shrine with idol in a random shop

: Curtain and nave, Syro-Malankara cathedral, Trivandrum

: Littered beach scene, all-too common in India

: Syro-Malankara cathedral, Trivandrum

: Evening worship beside the Ganges, Varanasi

: Dumpy hotel named after Hindu gods where we kept out bags and cleaned up one afternoon

: Typical–cows doing what they want, when they want, where they want

: “My Lord and my God” in ancient languages at the St. Thomas museum, Cochi

: Our fresh Chicken 65 being prepared (as well as some gerbils which we did not eat!)

: We got some needed comfort food outside the Taj Mahal, Agra

: Monks praying in front of the Bodhi Tree and a relic said to be Buddha’s foot

: Tibetan Buddhist temple, just one of dozens of national temples in Bodh Gaya

: “My Lord and my God” in the world’s languages as well as a statue with Thomas putting his finger in Jesus’ side

: Kokkamangalam church and shrine, built on the site of one of the 7 churches founded by St. Thomas himself

: Nice sister showing us how to open and eat a Jack Fruit, Cochi

: Various kinds of Buddhist monks in town for Buddha’s birthday

: St. Thomas museum gate, Cochi

: Ganesh, the elephant god depicted here in blue to signify that he, like the sky, is infinite

: Cow and rickshaw outside the Taj Mahal

: Flowers to purchase and offer to the gods at the Shiva Temple in Varanasi

: Syro-Malabar research center, Cochi

: Bodhi Tree where Buddha attained Enlightenment

: Stunning artwork, just one small pic of the great mountain palace at Jaipur

: Entrance to international shrine of St. Thomas, Chennai

: It was so great to try the many variations of banana in S. India

: View of the beach outside our hotel, Trivandrum

: Sunset view from our boat upon the Ganges

: Jal Mahal water palace, Jaipur

: Close-up of the splendid inscriptions upon the great minaret of the Qutub Minar

: Tree where Jesus is said to have appeared to and embraced the great Hindu guru Ramakrishna, Calcutta

: Typical “toilet” and “shower”

: Ancient Jewish mosque, Cochi

: Gigantic monkey god Hanuman statue down the street from our hotel, Delhi

: Shiva lingam inside a side temple inside the great Dakshineswar Kali temple, Calcutta

: Great view of the world’s second highest door, which seems bigger because of the steps, Fatehpur Sikri

: Ancient Hindu temple converted to Buddhist, Bodh Gaya

: One of many national temples in Bodh Gaya

: Nice angle showing the artwork on the Qutub Minar minaret

: Kokkamangalam church on the site of an ancient church founded by St. Thomas

: Nice angle showing the intricate artwork that covers the grand mountain palace in Jaipur

: Fr. Matthew, vicar-general of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, showing us the local St. Thomas cross with lotus flower underneath signifying that the Cross reaches out to the whole world