Mangalore

Our second stop in India was Mangalore or Mangaluru as the locals call it. It is in another state, Kannada where yet another language is spoken...and there are several local dialects within that main language. Our guide, Maxom Kevin (I did not get his last name), was a college graduate in Hotel Management, a Roman Catholic, and fluent in at least 4 languages...English and Hindi and Cockany (the language of Catholics in the region) and the language for Kannada. (In 1947, when India became independent, the 28 states were created based on the predominant language of each area. It must have been a monumental task.)

Today in Mangalore we saw St. Aloysius Catholic Church and School and College. Because we were in Cochin yesterday, I expected to see the same conditions...what a surprise to see near spotless grounds, nicely painted buildings and no mold! Groundskeepers were sweeping the 107 acre campus so that it looked nothing like the "mess" we saw the day before. We only saw the church -- a highly decorated church that was something else. We were not allowed to take pictures but I'm guessing if you look up St. Aloysius Church in Mangalore, you will see the beautiful frescos and canvases that decorate it. All the painting was done in 2 years and 7 months by one man! Some of the decor is very reminiscent of what you see in the Cistene Chapel. And it also proves that with care, things can be maintained in this hot humid environment. (The temps range from 68 to 100+ with high humidity throughout the year..there are only 2 seasons--summer and spring.)

From this beautiful church we next visited the oldest Temple of Shiva in all of india. The bronze statue of Shiva is said to be from 1160 AD. We viewed the statue and yet again could not take pictures. We could take pictures within the Temple grounds.

Our last stop was another temple to Shiva...only this one was created by a very rich man for the "untouchables" because he felt that all people, no matter what caste, should have a temple to pray in. That was in 1902. In 1991 the temple was completely renovated with marble and bronze gold and silver and it's a magnificent temple not just for untouchables but for everyone. BTW it was clean too.

It was a good day but way too hot. Today I brought a wet wash cloth with me to cool us off...it came in handy. It also took off some if the dust we collected walking along the narrow streets getting to and from the temples. Tomorrow we go to Goa.

PS..I just found a picture of the altar area of the church...it was in Wikipedia and it was public domain to boot.