More Legends from Kerala - 2

5. Siva extracts His Dues:
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The Rajah of Nilambur was suffering from 'atyagni' - a severe digestive disorder that makes the patient perpetually hungry and consume huge quantities of food, all of which merely - and rapidly - passes through undigested.

Atyagni is a severely debilitating disease - and some patients are even driven to suicide by the unbearable hunger. The Rajah consulted the best physician but his efforts could only arrest the progress of the already terrible disease. Although the Rajah's vast wealth ensured a continuous supply of food, the constant eating and severe hunger pangs soon drove him into the direst of straits..

Then one day, two brahmins called on the Rajah; one of them seemed very old and the other, much younger; the former claimed to be a skilled physician and the other, an adept in astrology. The rajah eagerly sought their inputs on his condition. The astrologer said: "your disease is the result of displeasing the gods. How you did it is not important. But he (pointing to his elder companion) will be able to tell you the solution!"

The physician: "Lord Siva needs to be propitiated. Just offer a 'Praathal' (a grand ceremonial feast) to Him at the Vaikom temple. As for medication, drink a liter of water each day before meals!"

The Rajah invited the duo to join him for lunch. "we shall be back after a bath in the river nearby" they said and left the palace - and were never seen again.

Though puzzled by their disappearance, the Rajah had a powerful feeling that the duo were Siva Himself and His son Murugan in disguise. He immediately set aside some gold to fund the Praathal and began the 'water therapy'. Needless to say, within a few weeks, he was completely cured!

At the earliest convenient date, the Rajah and his retinue made a pilgrimage to distant Vaikom (Nilambur to Vaikom is over 200 km), procured a massive amount of groceries and conducted a grand Praathal. After the feast, they packed up the left over foodstuffs and were about to start back when the Rajah suddenly felt the disease flare up in his belly. Scared stiff, he sought the advice of a local astrologer: "The lord says all material bought for the feast has to be used right here. If there is anything left over, conduct another feast tomorrow with it; and if the provisions you now possess prove inadequate, buy more!"

The devout Rajah acted as per the lord's directive. Till the end of his days, he would offer a Praathal at Vaikom every year. His descendents were less enthusiastic. Eventually, the practice stopped - and it is often said by Elders that the Nilambur royal family would not have suffered huge losses, as they did, during the Moplah revolts if only they had not discontinued the annual Praathal at Vaikom.

6. Bambi, the King Elephant:
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'Bambi' - that would be a very odd name indeed for an elephant - at least a non-circus one! Our hero belonged to the Siva temple at Ettumanoor and was a fixture at every festival there. Being the tallest and best-looking tusker in those parts, Bambi was always the one who led any procession at Ettumanoor and was often hired to lead festivals at many nearby temples.

And Bambi's poise during the chaos of festivals was legendary - unruly crowds, the din of the 'melam', loud fireworks, nothing touched his calm and elegant presence. It is said once a rocket fired during a festival-closing pyrotechnic display went 'off course' and came screeching towards Bambi - who simply caught the rogue projectile with his trunk and stamped it out!

One less known fact about Bambi was that he was actually blind - in his youth, some cruel mahouts put out his eyes to cripple him and gain total control over him. But then, Bambi possessed a powerful 'inner eye' and could find his way through any mess anywhere.

Bambi was very particular that a full bunch of bananas be offered to him during every procession he went for. In case this demand wasn't met, he would simply walk away and never return. It is related that once the trustees of the Thirunakkara temple defaulted on the bananas and Bambi abruptly left the place when the festival there was but halfway through, rapidly covered the nearly two dozen kilometer distance to Ettumanoor without his mahouts - and without causing any damage to anything or anyone on the way - and rested only on reaching his own temple.

7. The Damayanti of Sucheendram:
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Once a Nambuthiri brahmin approached the Maharajah of Travancore with a complaint: "I visited the temple at Sucheendram and the chief priest didn't let me see the Damayanti!"
- "Damayanti?"

- "Yes, your highness! In the underground 'nilavara' there is a golden statue of Damayanti, allegedly deposited at the temple by her husband, the legendary king Nala himself. I asked the priest to show it to me and he refused!"

The Rajah had never heard of the statue. His curiosity was aroused. And he was angry that a high-born brahmin was denied even a glimpse of a mere statue. The temple priest was summoned and quizzed.

The priest said: "Your majesty, only those who have complete mastery over their senses can withstand viewing that statue. In the entire history of the temple, only ascended Masters like Vilvamangalth Swamiyar and Sankaracharya have been allowed a darshan of the object. Ordinary men, even brahmins, aren't up to it!"

- "Why?"

- "Your majesty, it is said, the temple will be defiled if eyes of mere mortals see Damayanti!"

The king wasn't convinced. "I am not convinced by what you say. Lead this Nambuthiri into the nilavara and let him see the statue; it is my order!"

The priest had no choice now. He and the Nambuthiri went with an oil lamp into the dark nilavara. The priest kept his eyes fixed on the floor and saw only the feet of the statue. The Nambuthiri came face to face with 'her' and stood utterly dazed for a while. Then he was heard muttering: "Let's get out of here!".

Out in the open, the Nambuthiri had but one thought "I shouldn't have...!". He said "I will go and take a dip in the temple pond" and staggered out.

That very evening, the priest couldn't open the temple doors - they seemed sealed by some mysterious force. All pujas had to be cancelled. An astrologer was summoned and he promptly declared: "the temple has been polluted!" Soon special purifying rites were performed and things got back to normal. As for the nambuthiri, he wasn't seen again!

The Rajah, stunned by whatever happened, ordered that the Damayanti be wrapped up and buried in an unmarked location within the temple enclosure. And so it remains to this day. Nobody knows where she is - and nobody asks to see her!

Note: At the Panachikkatt temple near Kottayam is a subshrine dedicated to a mischievous Yakshi; she uses her seductive powers on men performing extended 'Bhajana' at the temple and causes the holy space to be defiled - as per Sankunni's Aitihyamala.

8. Piravam - Temple vs Church
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In the town of Piravam, the Visharikkavu temple (dedicated to Durga) and a great church stand cheek by jowl. Hindu-Christian relations here were exemplary from the beginning and both communities used to participate in the festivals of the other with gusto...

And then, Karthika Thirunal, the great Maharajah of Travancore, visited Piravam to have darshan at the Durga temple. He wasn't pleased to see the tall church right next to the temple. "How can a church be allowed to function so near a sacred temple?" he asked indignantly. Soon, royal soldiers marched towards the church with hammers and pickaxes, intent on pulling it down. The Christians rushed to Karthika Thirunal and appealed for mercy. The benevolent king relented: "Well, dig a deep canal to divide the church compound from the temple sanctuary. That will do for now!"

The episode ended without much damage but interfaith relations began to sour. Within a generation or two the issue of who is the greater power - the Goddess or the God of the Christians - came to a head and once during the temple festival, a bet was declared: If the bronze idol of the goddess, taken for a holy dip in the nearby river to conclude the fest, would float in the water, the christians would deposit the big church bell at the temple and if the idol sank, the Hindus would hand over the conch being blown before every puja.

Durga's power saw to it that the idol actually floated - indeed, it 'swam' across the river! The Christians kept their word and deposited the church bell at the temple. The Hindus, in turn, graciously made an offering of the sacred conch to the church.

For a long time thereafter, the big church bell would toll from the temple before the daily pujas and the conch would be blown announcing the holy mass at the church. Whether the practice has continued to the present day, one doesn't know.

9. The holy Linga of Kuzhikkatt - Siva's dues, again!
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The Nambuthiri family of 'Kuzhikkatt Illam' were renowned for their prowess in magic and sorcery. At a certain point of time, the Illam fell into poverty. The then patriarch by name Narayanan was a learned and virtuous man like his forebears but found even ensuring three square meals a day for his family a challenge, however hard he worked.

In despair, Narayanan resolved to go and perform 'Bhajana' at the Trichur Siva (Vadakkunnathan) temple. He went through forty one days of rigorous austerities. And then, he had a vision of the lord. "Go back home tomorrow and cut down the giant Thanni tree in your compound. You will find a sacred Siva Lingam among its roots. The Linga is ancient and used to be worshipped by your ancestors. Then the tree grew around the Linga and people lost all knowledge of it. Once the pujas stopped, your Illam fell on bad times. Get everything back to where it was and all will be well!"

The Thanni was felled and the Lingam emerged. A small temple was built around it and the Kuzhikkatt Illam regained its prosperity, never to lose it again.

Once the temple started functioning in their compound, the Kuzhikkatt family resolved not to pursue sorcery as a vocation and turned to more 'Satwik' career paths. However, their Tantrik powers remained intact. Local Elders relate how once when challenged by an inpudent revenue officer, the then patriarch of the Illam got areca trees in his compound to bend down on their own and offer their nuts to the officer - who was addicted to betel paan!

More Legends from Kerala - 1

'Aitihya Kathakal', a collection of Keralan legends by the late Nilakantan Unni, is sometimes claimed to be a worthy successor to Kottarathil Sankunni's 'Aitihyamala'. In terms of prose-quality, Sankunni is way superior but Unni has worked hard and gathered over 260 stories in one fat volume - and manages to pack a few serious punches. Some samples (in condensed form without serious alteration of slant or tone) ..
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1. Buddha and his Dues:
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A stone Buddha idol has sat from undated antiquity amidst croplands near the village of Pallikkal. Popularly known as 'Pallikkal Puthrachan, He is known to bless farmers with bumper crops. It is also mandatory that those who benefit from Puthrachan's bounty deposit a share of the yield near the idol.

Puthrachan has no interest in residing in a proper temple or even having a minimal roof over his head. But he means business: all offerings he receives are to be distributed among the needy; if any wealthy person so much as touches the offerings made, he will be in trouble; and those who fail to deposit Puthrachan's dues will pay for it!

Once a farmer sowed sesame plants and got a good crop. When reminded of Puthrachan's share, he said: "the yield is due to my efforts, labour and manure. I am no Puthrachan-devotee!"

The next year, he again planted sesame and worked on his field with diligence. The plants soon flowered but that was that; the harvest was absolutely zilch! Having learnt his lesson, the farmer bought sesame from the market at double price and made the offering that ought to have been made the previous year. Thereafter, he never failed to pay his dues and his fields always gave excellent yield.

Note: Puthrachan now sits in the compound of the Krishnapuram Palace Museum - and a roof shields him from the elements.

2. Ittikkombi Achan:
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Palakkad was a vassal state of the powerful Zamorins of Calicut. Mid 18th century. Ittikkombi Achan was the chief of Palakkad. He was a brave and highly principled leader. Although respectful towards the Zamorin, he was no spineless yes-man.

The then Zamorin wanted to mount a military campaign against the neighbouring Cochin state and send a message to Palakkad demanding money to finance the campaign and some soldiers too. Ittikkombi Achan flatly refused to take part in such military adventurism and sent the messenger back to Calicut with a strongly worded reply.

Achan was aware that the rebuff would provoke the Zamorin to invade Palakkad first. Rather than wait for the inevitable attack and then defend his territory, Achan decided to take the initiative himself. He sought the help of Hyder Ali of Mysore!

Hyder was looking for some excuse to capture Calicut and was more than happy to offer assistance to anyone wishing to move against the Zamorin. Soon, bolstered by Hyder's legions, Achan laid siege fo Calicut. Taken unawares and utterly outmaneuvred, the Zamorin committed suicide. Frustrated by his failure to capture the Zamorin alive, Achan and his men looted and destroyed the citadel of Calicut.

Back at Palakkad, Achan ruled his territory like a virtual king. Hyder Ali was quite tolerant and understanding in his dealings with his ally.

But after Hyder died, things changed. Tipu Sultan, the new Mysore king was a religious zealot who had far more aggressive designs on Kerala as a whole than his father. Given Achan's pride and staunch adherance to Hinduism, a falling-out between the two men was inevitable. However, before Achan could mount a serious revolt, Tipu's agents kidnapped him and spirited him away to Mysore.

Ittikkombi Achan's subsequent fate is unknown. It is said he died in Tipu's captivity or got killed while trying to escape.

3. The born-again 'Ammachi':
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One day during the reign of Ayilyam Tirunal, Maharajah of Travancore (ruled from 1860 to 1880). After returning from the daily darshan of Lord Padmanabha, the Maharajah said to his trusted personal assistant, Keralavarman.

- "Did you not see a lovely lady standing by the northern wall?"

- "Sure enough, Highness! Is there anything the matter with her?"

- "Matter? No, none at all! Wonder who she is!"

- "I actually know her well. She is the wife of Eecharan, one of the managers in charge of the palace; they haven't been married for long"

- "I see, I knew his getting married but it is only today I learned how lovely his wife is!"

That was that for the day. The resourceful Keralavarman made a few visits to Eecharan's house (he could go often since he was the Maharajah's Man). He soon figured out that Eecharan was very religious and spent a couple of hours in his prayer room each evening without fail; and that would be a nice time slot for the Maharajah to work out a rendezvous with his charming wife!

Things moved fast. The Rajah timed his arrival at Eecharan's house to perfection but alas, not his departure - when Eecharan finished his prayers and stepped out, he caught sight of the Rajah leaving his wife's chamber in a hurry.

Eecharan approached his red-faced and trembling wife, bowed and said: "From today, you are Ammachi (royal consort) to me. You have my absolute loyalty!" He left promptly.

From the next day, he would sleep apart from his wife and never seek any help from her regarding household matters but continued to report for work at the palace regularly. The Rajah knew Eecharan had seen him with his wife. Although he managed to hide his acute embarassment from Eecharan, the Rajah was very puzzled as to the total lack of change in the latter's attitude. As for Eecharan's wife, she was hurt beyond words by the respectful distance her husband maintained from her; but what could she possibly do but bear it in silence!

A couple of weeks passed. Then, Eecharan approached the Rajah and spoke: "It would please me immensely if your highness accepted .... (name of his wife) as Ammachi without further delay."

"Four days from now... do make the arrangments!" said the Rajah with a straight face.

The wedding soon took place. Eecharan continued to do his managerial tasks with total devotion. Not once did he speak to or enquire about his ex-wife who now lived with the Rajah in the palace. The Maharajah, though much pleased to acquire the object of his desire, had his doubts: "after all, Eecharan was her husband... so is his present deferential behaviour not a sham? Are the two of them still ....?"

One day, the Rajah called the Ammachi and said: "Visit Eecharan's house tonight, alone, and walk into his bedchamber; spend some time there and get back!"

Though shocked, the lady could only obey the royal command. Shocked to see the Ammachi in his house at a late hour, Eecharan jumped up and said: "My Lady, why did you come here at this unearthly hour? Please get back to the king! I will send a couple of guards to escort you safely there!"

The Ammachi was brought to the palace. The Rajah was in great spirits. He already knew everything - he had sent Keralavarman to stalk the Ammachi all the way to Eecharan's house and he had rushed back with an accurate report of what had happened there.

Thus our story had a happy ending. The Rajah bestowed several precious gifts on Eecharan who continued to serve his master with great devotion.

Note: All characters in this story are from history (Wiki). Details may be legendary.

4. Tipu's Necklace:
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Tipu's Mysore army was beseiging Calicut. The local Zamorin Rajah was in mortal fear. Trying to defend his kingdom would mean certain defeat and death; and surrender would mean a forced conversion to Islam...

Tipu sent a messenger to the Zamorin asking him to come for a meeting. Knowing the game was up, the Zamorin prayed fervently to his favorite deity, the goddess Karthayini, and went out to meet the mighty sultan.

It was afternoon and Tipu was taking his siesta. The Zamorin was told to wait for a while. But rather surprisingly, within a minute, the Sultan emerged from his bed-chamber and approached the visitor.

"Welcome!" said Tipu. "I am much pleased that you didn't hide away and have come to meet me in person. I see you have no plans to fight against us. I too don't want unnecessary bloodshed. Let us part in peace. And here is a gift for you!" Tipu took off his gold necklace and gave it to the Zamorin and retired to his chamber.

The Zamorin returned to his palace in joy. His fears had been allayed and he was a free man with his territories and faith intact. He said a silent prayer to the Goddess.

Sometime later, Tipu again stepped out and asked his adjutants: "I slept too long... and by the way, that Zamorin fellow was supposed to have come. He didn't, right? Let's put him in his place!"

The sultan's men promptly reminded him of the Zamorin's arrival, waiting and departure, proudly wearing the sultan's necklace he had been gifted.

Tipu then noticed that his expensive necklace was gone. He was shocked. On hearing more - and thinking more - about what had happened, he said: "I think we should move from here!"

Shortly thereafter, the Zamorin had a dream: "I saved you from the sultan. His necklace ought to be mine. So, get it deposited here!"

The devout Zamorin knew what the dream meant. A grateful offering was made of the sultan's necklace to the Karthyayini temple at Kumaranelloor - and to this day, it remains a prized possession of the goddess.

Travels with Selkit - 7

OCTOBER 7th, 2024:

The grandest Luxor site remains to be seen - Karnak temple. In a perfect world, I would have got there at first light today. But, after 9 days of continuous travel, the very bones are tired. So, I take it easy and have my first breakfast in 5 days. Shifting thru the gears gently, I check out from the resort by 9.30, luggage and all.

I need to get across to the city. Right at the beginning of the 2 km walk to the ferry, a guy on a motorbike halts and says: "leeft? fairy?" before I can answer, he says: "i take... free!". I get on although the Aamir adventure is fresh in memory. My new benefactor sets a reassuringly gentle pace, halts to say Salam to at least three chaps on the way and puts me down at the ferry. He speeds off immediately, cheerfully waving away my attempts to tip him with a "No...Maassalaama!"

From the ferry jetty on the city side, the Karnak temple is some distance to the north - at the end of the nearly 3 km sphinxes avenue from the Luxor temple. I walk, luggage and all - not too heavy, I tell myself, only just under 10 kilos. But, the sun is already beating down.

Karnak is an immensity - I would say a lot larger than any south Indian temple complex. Just the 'hypostyle hall' of over a hundred pillars - the tourist highlight of the place - equals the huge Notre Dame cathedral in floor area. The Homeric description of Thebes as the 'city of a hundred gateways' refers to Karnak - its pylons/gopurams are huge and many in number although much less than a hundred. The Luxor temple, so impressive in every other way, is a veritable pygmy before Karnak. Karnak was built, extended, rebuilt and built over by several generations of pharaohs: Hatshepsut, Thutmose, Tutankhamen, Ramses and many more. Most of the construction happened in the latter half of the second millennium BC but there are earlier remnants.

From nearly 10.30 to almost 2 - the glariest part of the day - I wander thru Karnak. Here is what I see:

The first pylon - the entrance to the complex:

A heraldic pair of vultures on a pillar:

Yet another Ramses colossus with a daughter of his - herself about twice life-size - at his feet:

The pharaoh as the destroyer of enemies is a sculpture theme dating back at least to Narmer. The standard pose - the victorious king holding the vanquished opponent(s) by the hair and about to smite him(them). Karnak has quite a few war scenes, mainly on the vast pylon surfaces.

Glimpses of the hypostyle hall. Imagine how these pillars would have looked in the morning desert sunshine if only the colors had survived - and yes, the blue god makes another appearance!

The two famous obelisks of Karnak. The taller one is by Hatshepsut; I can recall reading about it long ago in Mali's retelling - how the ironwilled queen forced master builder Senmut to undertake the task of erecting two huge obelisks "one in my father's name, one to the glory of Ra" (much later in life, I also heard Hat and Senmut had a falling out leading to the latter's name and signature getting erased from many of his works!).

Obelisks ought to be bracketed with the pyramids as supreme Egyptian achievements - aesthetic as well as structural. Collecting these elegant needles were a European craze in the last century or so and wiki says the great majority among the tallest ones have been taken across. The very largest obelisk ever rests in a quarry, unfinished. Queen Hat's standing oblelisk comes next.

Must be the lady herself, in the 'stretcher-bearer' pose:

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Note added later: I have come to know the above statue is probably not of queen Hat but of goddess Amunet (a new name I was unaware of while in Egypt). An observation: seems in Egypt, really large colossi always represented human beings and not gods. I have heard of big statues of Horus as a falcon at Abu Simbel, a place I didn't visit; that's all I can think of.
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Many of the colossal statues here are heavily damaged - some are defaced and a few look like some satanic force has torn them apart - I can't think of even one really intact specimen:

Gopurams reflected in a holy tank is a common enough site in Tamil temples. Here we have something very similar - the remnants of a huge pylon reflected in a holy tank (to my limited knowledge, this is the only holy tank in an ancient Egyptian temple), whose very existence in this desert puzzles me (admittedly, the Nile is only a kilometer off).

The temple of Khonsu - though quite a big affair - feels like a mere appendage to the main Karnak temple:

Another 'temple of Ramses' lies in ruins nearby. The remnants include some reliefs of botanical and zoological specimens:

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I get out of Karnak and ask around for "temple of Mut" - to which I already have a ticket - and receive somewhat misleading directions. Long story short, I end up walking all around the site (an excess of nearly two km) and finally having to solicit the help of a youngster who despite not having a word of English, willingly leads me through some overgrown no man's land to another entry point. Not one tourist is around but the caretaker opens up the place (for a personal fee) and lets me have a dekko. The temple is utterly ruined. It is most famous for its array of Sekhmet statues; a few are mercifully intact. And see how the hooded cobras team up to form a tiara for thr lioness-goddess!

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By 4 pm, I reach Oasis restaurant. Koshari is waiting. The dish feels like a cross between upma and pasta and is quite bland; but I am starving so conquering a massive plateful is no big deal.

I now ponder what to do with the rest of evening. I positively do not want to see the Mummification Museum. Among the temples, the Luxor temple stays open till 10 and gets lit up in the evenings. So, I decide to revisit it. Since I know the folks at Oasis well by now, I can leave the luggage there.

Here is how Luxor temple looks at twilight and after.

Back at Oasis, I have another go at King Farouk soup and garlic bread.

One final glimpse of the Nile:

No Uber in Luxor; to get to the airport, I end up paying the cabbie an amount approx twice what I would have paid in Cairo for a similar distance. I reach at 10 pm.

3 more hours of waiting before the flight to Cairo - the onward flight back home from Cairo via Abu Dhabi is only at 2 pm tomorrow. A gaggle of Italian tourists make a nuisance of themselves with noisy chatter; maybe it is just as well - if the place were silent, I might sleep off and miss the flight.

OCTOBER 8th, 2024:
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I land in Cairo at 2 am. Reeling from Luxor effect and utterly spent, I catch a wink of sleep at the airport on a rather awkward bench. Post an early breakfast, I briefly consider filling some of the half day remaining in Cairo with a taxi ride around Heliopolis but decide against it - just loitering in the airport sipping some drink or other feels like bliss.

Somewhere, I see this three-tier object, the like of which I can't remember seeing anywhere - the last bit of sightseeing in Egypt:

Mercifully, the customs and stuff get done quick and we fly off to Abu Dhabi on time. It is night when we land. For the second time in a fortnight, I have 3 hours to kill at Abu Dhabi and once again I get fleeced. A Currency Exchange booth gives me the equivalent of 1000 Indian rupees less than what I should have got for my remaining Egyptian pounds and justifies it with some "online...offline" nonsense. I am too tired to argue.

On touching down in Kochi at 3 am local time, I text Gyani with news of my return home. "Now starts the hard work on the memoirs." comes the matter-of-fact reply.
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Now that the 'memoirs' are done, I need to thank a couple of folks - Rekesh for putting the Egyptian idea into my head a year ago and for mentioning Abydos, a place I hadn't heard about before I landed in Cairo and 'Captain', without whose logistic support and guidance, I simply wouldn't have set out for Egypt, let alone gotten back home in one piece. To my Readers (so few I can name you all), congrats on getting this far! And to Egypt, dunno if I have enough years in the bank for a revisit, but I will try!

Finallly, a snapshot from the Readers Digest 'Book of Facts':

Travels with Selkit - 6

OCTOBER 6th, 2024:

At 7 am sharp, driver Mohammed turns up at the resort. We start off immediately in his car. Within minutes, we hit the north-bound highway and the facade of Hatshepsut temple makes a brief appearance to the left. Very soon, we are out in the bright barrenness of the Sahara.

The highway, just like desi ones, often breaks down into gravel or shrinks to half its width and progress is anything but smooth; but wherever possible, Mohammed really has a go, touching speeds of 140 kmph plus. Within an hour, we take an eastward (Nile-ward) diversion and reenter civilization.

These parts remind me of interior Kathiawad - flat terrain, dusty and poorly surfaced roads, traffic featuring autorickshaws and 'sakat rickshaws' (a contraption git by patching a cart onto a mobike). We are now in the Dendara Archeological Area.

Here is a proper Egyptian temple (dedicated primarily to Hathor) built by European immigrants turned rulers. Till this trip, I never knew the extent to which the Ptolemies and Romans bought into the local customs and beliefs; it certainly looks quite unlikely that it was all pure political stunt. A pictorial run thru:

Corinthian-like columns stand around in all their Grecianness:

This lion-snake image was repeated many times on a wall - and nowhere else:

Some serious imagery - crowned serpents and vultures, a deity perched on a flower (forerunner to a lot of our own gods and goddesses), a 'globe-toting' Hathor and what not...

Interior of the temple:

Here is Ra's barque in its voyage across the zodiac:

Nut devours and delivers the sun:

The rear wall of the temple: At the far left are Cleopatra and her son Caesarion shown worshipping Egyptian gods:

If the Romans could be so syncretic n broadminded towards Egyptian religion and cults, why did they (allegedly) try so goddam hard to stamp out Christianity - and were (allegedly) anything but nice to the Jews? Maybe it's down to the seeming (but utter) incompatibility between monotheism and polytheism!
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Dendara to Abydos is another 70 or so kilometers. Once again, most of the drive is along the desert highway which alternates between the smooth and the awful.

By midday, we are in front of the Seti I temple (mainly from 1300 BC) at Abydos. Abydos was a very sacred site from deep antiquity and has strong associations with the god Osiris - and his multiple deaths and revivals. The temple here *seems* the richest of them all in sheer number and variety of surviving murals. The basic design is the usual one with a big pillared hall leading into the core sanctuary - the latter here features six or seven receding 'chapels'.

As usual, every inch is illustrated; I presume it is Seti who is shown interacting with divinities - a couple of the reliefs show him as the beloved child of Hathor and perhaps his own earthly mother. The sheer variety of the rituals illustrated in amazing.

Here is a hopefully representative selection - I can't even begin to visualize how the temple would have looked in its fully painted up form 3000+ years ago:

The pharaoh does proper puja (flower offering) to Ptah

... and offers liqour to a bestial divinity

It appears the Egyps thought of a blue skinned god a good millennium before us - the deity is Amun who turned blue post the Amarna style was introduced during Akhenaton's time.

The setting up of a djed pillar:

Wonder why ancient Egyptians (unlike the somewhat later Greeks, say) showed the act of running as just walking with longer strides!

The image of squatting Hapi above is new to me. It might well be a signature Abydos motif (later, I am to see a coffee table book on Abydos with this avatar of Hapi on its cover). Ramses, as a young prince, running after a bull with dad Seti is yet another interesting image.
and here is another curious(to me) image: a god worshipping another god. Yet another concept one sees in Indian iconography:

Right behind the Abydos temple, there used to be a temple of Osiris. Only foundations remain:

I ask a guard about the temple of Ramses II that I have heard is somewhere around. He says: "come!" and leads me to a locked up edifice that seems to be in considerably poorer physical shape than Seti. "One minute!" he says and disappears. I wait with some apprehension.

The guard reappears with another chap who opens the lock of the temple. "Come in!" commands the guard and enters. I have no choice but to follow. Over the next half hour or so, he leads me around the temple under the glaring sun and even manages some descriptions. At the end of it all, he doesn't ask for any money and seems very happy with the 50 pounds I offer.

Here is Ramses at Abydos. The temple is in ruins. Most of the paint has worn off from the murals that remain. But Ramses being Ramses, things remain interesting. I don't recall seeing scenes from the battle of Kadesh here; maybe there never were, maybe they are gone.

Before starting on our return journey, I pause near a fruitseller and pick up two bananas. I pay him a 20 pound note. He returns the dough to me and says something in seeming annoyance. Not comprehending, I call Mohammed over to help. The fruitseller says something aloud to him and turning to me says conclusively but not unpleasantly: "No english, Go!". Mohammed tells me "we go now!" and walks off. I follow, utterly puzzled. Back in the car, Mohammed explains: "he has no change for the money you gave. So he gave two bananas free!"

Mohammed seems in a hurry to be back home and really steps on the pedal. The desert rushes by in a blaze of white heat and we are back in the suburbs of Luxor west bank by 3.30. I ask to be dropped at the ferry.
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I don't have much of an idea what to do next but am utterly famished. So I get across and walk along a road parallel to the waterfront hoping to find some eating place. I see Umm Kalthum in this avatar in a shop and pause to take a pic (I can't remember any Indian popular artist thus celebrated):

A certain 'Hotel Oasis Palace' materializes and I look in.

The decor inside seems Victorian or Edwardian with all sorts of antique decorations. The prices seem reassuringly moderate. 'King Farouk lentil soup' catches my eye and am pleasantly surprised to receive some spicy hot dal that goes very well with garlic bread.

For me, King Farouk is the most familiar 20th century Egyptian, more familiar than even Nasser let alone Naguib Mahfouz or Umm Kulthum. Credit for that goes to S K Pottekkat (*)

I ask the waiter about Farouk. He says: "he was our king. We love him!" and points at a picture on the wall of him and a lady.

"The lady ... must be Nariman Sadek!" I remark. "How do you know her name?" the waiter asks. "She is very famous in India" - I lie.

I scan the menu and ask: "koshari is not listed here. Do you serve it?"

"Not now. But if you come tomorrow, we can give you..." says the waiter.

"Sure. I will try to come for lunch; maybe a late lunch!"
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(*) I wasn't even a teenager when I first read 'Cleopatrayude nattil' a travelog by Pottekkat about Egypt. One entire section is devoted to Farouk and his adventures (well, escapades ought to be the right word). An absolute womanizer, the much married king catches sight of the beauty Nariman Sadek in a Cairo market, has his minions stalk her and find out that she is engaged to a certain young diplomat by name Zaki, gets her family to call off the engagement and marries her. But the 1952 coup deposes Farouk and he flees to Europe with his family. The marriage breaks up and the king soon dies of a heart attack in Rome. Pottekkat is silent on what happened thereafter to Nariman but Wiki says she remarried twice and lived in comfort and seclusion in Cairo till her death in 2005.