A Portrait of Indiia- Part 6, Udaipur- lake of exotic palaces and temples

as the busyness of modern american life overtakes the memories of my magical visit to India, the essence of Mother India stays with me,  just like the remnants of her matrifocal culture lives on beneath the overlays of  patriarchy there.  She resides in the old relics of the yoni symbols, the earthy scents, holy elephants, the sheer feminine beauty,strength and sweetness of the women, the cycles of nature including birth and death that are more present, the ecstatic music and dance, the communal lifestyle, the sensuality of everyday life, not to mention the Divine Love and Bliss that totally permeates the atmosphere.  after at least 300,000 years of of the original Goddess religion dominating human thought and feeling,  patriarchy took over and there was a switch to honoring the sun- Father sky,  God the father as a distant, remote creator who created life without birth. HA!   i'm realizing my entire life i've imaged God to be a male energy because it's so deeply ingrained in our culture.  something happened to me along the way in India that switched this for me.  even though the hindus are basically patriarchal and worship shiva as the triple God, originally She was a triple Goddess and her essence is still palpable in this ancient land.  i felt her within and without and her essence remains with me. humankind originally held the Goddess to be the lifeforce itself, not a human form at all.  this can still be found today with the tantrics, though even there patriarchy has inserted himself.  i believe sacred, holy energy is primarily feminine in nature- fertile, life giving, nurturing, cyclic, peaceful, gentle, loving, and concerned for for the welfare of all beings.  this is what i've retained from Mother India. it is deeply profound and i'm still integrating this huge, life-changing orientation.  on some level i've always held this as my center, especially in my art which is a vivid celebration of life- inherently of the Goddess. now i am more conscious of HER.

from jaipur we flew to Udaipur, an old man made lake with many beautiful old palaces , temples and hotels, including our hotel- the Oberai, which was rated the top hotel in the World in both 2009-2010.  i had to pinch myself to make sure this was for real.  but before i show you pics of Udaipur, i forgot a few pics of the Oberai in Jaipur from the last post which wasn't too shabby either-

she's the gardener!  can you believe that?  all the gardeners are women and they all are dressed so beautifully~

when we got to Udaipur we took a boat ride across the lake to our hotel and saw the outside of the palaces-

then we reached our #1 rated hotel in the world-

we women love to sing and dance sweetly and ecstatically~

casey dozing in the window seat after a swim

after another delicious indian savory, spicy dinner and a dreamy sleep, the next day was spent touring palaces and temples-

old goddess deity.  the annointed bindi's are red as a symbol of sacred menstrual blood- power of life.
elephants symbolize feminine strength and are everywhere!

men dominated women by turning them into sex slaves in their harems, keeping them hidden, turning them into property. women have been brain washed into believing this is so. still, they retain the ancient goddess ways within their confines.

these garlands of fragrant roses and jasmine were purchased outside the temple by women stringing flowers from their gardens- 25 cents each!

the male God is wrathful

patriarchal sun god frowning on us.  we are inherently good, not evil mister

i leave you with these last 2 women who are gardening and sweeping- tending Mother Earth after all these milleniums!

next we will travel to the southern state of tropical Kerala to visit Cochin.  may the Goddess be with us all in deeply felt love for ourselves, each other and for our earth and all its creatures~