Temple of the Sacred Rats

Sacred rats, strange but true.

Anyone for Poker???

Deshnok was quite a small town in the middle of nowhere, but the Hindu temple attracts many visitors, Indian and tourist alike.

The story goes that the rats that live in the temple hold the souls of local nobles who have passed away, and are held sacred because of this. Before we entered the temple we had to take our shoes off of course, thankfully I'd socks on but Jillian was now barefoot, not ideal :-)

When we both finally plucked up the courage to go in, we were confronted with hundreds and hundreds of rats freely running about, it was actually an amazing sight. The temple was crowded with lots of Hindus trying to find the elusive white rat, which apparently will bring you good fortune if you see it. If a rat runs over your foot, this is also considered good luck. A few rats ran over my feet, and good luck was the last thing on my mind when that happened. We did manage to spot the white rat, and caught it on camera. That brought us a lot of attention from the locals, who practically begged to see the photo of the white rat. When we did they were so grateful, thanking us for letting them see it.

Bikaner

The Hindus in the temple really did treat these rats as if they were something special, like they were human. There were large bowls of milk laid out around the temple, and people brought food for them. It was all a rather bizarre experience, but so enjoyable to see. India is just so culturally different, and we see something totally new here every day.

Jillian left before I did, she couldn't stick it any longer, that's the rats not me :-)

When I eventually left, I found her surrounded by Indian women. They'd been asking, more like interrogating, her about how long we'd been together, why we weren't married yet and when will we be getting married. It was all in good nature, though we made a quick exit as soon as I'd my boots back on.

Bikaner Fort

Desnok was only a stop on the way to Bikaner, where we'd stay for the night. Bikaner was lovely, and our hotel had a fantastic rooftop view over the whole town, including the fort. We'd a gorgeous meal in the rooftop restaurant, and were treated to some traditional Rajasthani music and dance, and also a western tourist getting up to dance and making a complete prat out of herself. How embarassing, but God loves a trier :-)

J & A.

First Encounter with Camels

Garden at Bikaner Fort

Hanuman the Monkey God

Haveli Hotel, Bikaner

Inventive Photos

Lord Krishna

Maharaja's Bedroom

Mandawi Castle

Narrow Streets of Bikaner Fort

Rats Rats Rats Everywhere!

Sacred Rats

Sacred Rats of Deshnok Temple

Soul???

The White Rat

Typical India

Us and the Sunglasses!!!

Weapon Display at Bikaner Fort