The Jagdith Temple in Udaipur

The Jagdith Tample in Udaipur in Rajasthan is an Indo-Aryan temple devoted to the god Vishnu. It is approached up steep steps off the road that runs up to the City Palace.

Once through the gateway, the full height of the intricately carved stonework greets you, as does the incredible din of the bells being rung by the two bell ringers either side of the entrance to the temple proper.

During the temple service the ringing goes on and on without stop, one high-pitched clang rapidly following another until the air is humming and vibrating with noise.

Bell Ringer Jagdith Temple, Udaipur
Bell Ringer Jagdith Temple, Udaipur

The noise is very, very, very loud but that doesn’t adequately describe it. Rather, it is a noise that can be felt ringing and zinging through the air, through the temple stonework, and through the people standing there.

Bell Ringer Jagdith Temple Udaipur
Bell Ringer Jagdith Temple Udaipur

As for the men ringing the bells, it really doesn’t matter whether they are wearing nothing at all, or the latest Swedish ear defenders under their headgear – the noise must travel through their heads and shake and rock their hearing to its foundations.

I can’t begin to imagine what the state of mind of the men ringing the bells must be. The man I saw had his eyes closed and he looked as though he was transported to some other realm by what he was involved in doing.

I don’t think it is a show for tourists. From what I have seen of people here – from hotel managers to shopkeepers to taxi drivers – religious meaning and religious observance is very close to them and not something done to provide a spectacle.

Everyone I speak to knows the names of the deities and the symbolism of their colors and of their artefacts, of what they are doing and what their purpose is in the cosmic scheme of things.

Free Food Service
Behind the temple is a separate courtyard where the temple organization offers free meals to who they describe as the poor and needy.

Wanderers
To the side of the temple were these two gentlemen whose composure and state of mind seemed so different from that of the people eating in the courtyard.

Sitting in Udaipur
Sitting in Udaipur

First Man - Jagdith Temple
First Man - Jagdith Temple

Second Man - Jagdith Temple
Second Man - Jagdith Temple

The Temple

Jagdith Temple
Jagdith Temple
Here is a shot of the temple taken from the roof of a neighbouring building. I asked a man in a shop to the side of the temple where the best place was to see the building from above. He suggested I should go to the rooftop restaurant of the LakeView Haveli and this is where I stood to get this shot.

The light was very harsh and contrasty, so the shot is not as good as I would have liked, but I knew that would be the case before I climbed the five or six flights of stairs to get to the rooftop.

There were no customers in the restaurant and I offered the man at the cash-desk a small sum for allowing me the privilege of having taken a couple of shots of the temple from his premises. He was pleased with the offer and we parted with smiles on both sides.

When I returned to the shop to thank the young man for his directions, he invited me to take a cup of tea and told me his shop is an outlet for a craft cooperative that is about 160km north of Udaipur which makes quilts and cushion covers for a mostly Indian customer base. It was very pleasant looking out from his little cave of a shop – colors everywhere – into the busy street.