Ahhhh, Clean Clothes

So I got my laundry finally. It's really nice to be wearing clean clothes. I haven't had this pleasure in more than a week. So the patent attorney deserves a an apology about the last post. It turns out his fax machine was on. So there is a bit of a mystery about why I couldn't get through before. Now you must be thinking the obvious: those Indian phone lines. But the seemingly obvious would be unlikely. Very little functions properly in India, but the telephone system is certainly an exception (the postal service being the other). In fact, the telephone service is more reliable here than it is in Colorado. It is possible that the international connections on the US end were overloaded and running too slow for the fax machines to sync properly. Regardless, I did finally get through, and then I went to the Golden Temple.

The Golden Temple complex is actually a Muslim mosque and a Hindu temple. And the security was incredible. On our way, a man starting walking with us and explaining the history of the two places of worship. My immediate thought was "what's he trying to sell me?" It turned out to be silks. This is a fairly common tactic throughout the world, and I've seen it before. But I was actually interested in having a guide and was willing to buy some more silk. So I played along. He was actually very helpful in getting past security. At the complex, you cannot bring cameras, lighters, matches, cellphones, and obviously weapons. So left such things with Tamding, who was not interested in seeing the complex. Despite these precautions, I was rejected by the first security inspection. It turns out that you cannot bring a ballpoint pen into the complex, which was something even the guide did not know. After giving the pen to Tamding, I was able to pass through the first security screen. And I was able to pass through the five remaining screenings as well. The screenings are in pairs, and you get a full pat down by an army official and a religious official.

The screenings are due to a very high level of friction between Muslims and Hindus in Varanasi. The friction started when the original Golden Temple (officially known as the Kashi Vishwanath Temple) was demolished by the Muslim Emperor Aurangzeb and replaced by the mosque that still stands there. It was subsequently rebuilt next to the mosque in 1780. You must understand that the Golden Temple is the holiest place in Hinduism and is said to be where Shiva took physical form on the earth. So the Hindus must have been really pissed when it was destroyed.

The Golden Temple gets its name from the gold plating that covers the entire building. And it's not just gold leaf, it's thick. There is supposedly 700kg of gold on the surface of the building. I wasn't allowed into either the Golden Temple or the mosque next door. Only Hindus are allowed into the temple, and only Muslims are allowed to enter the mosque. Given the tensions surrounding the two places of worship, I can understand. But I did get to see the outsides, which were impressive. Afterwards, I bought some silk at my guide's store. The prices were a little high, but the guide was actually very helpful and informative. He gets a commission for bringing customers into the store, and I felt he deserved it. And the silks are very nice.