Hinduism's Sistine Chapel...

So we paid about $9 USD for an hour of internet at the resort so we could relieve the worrying minds back home. In the remaining 15 minutes, I posted a blog entry with some of our pics. Of course, I went to upload it on the 15th minute, and well...you don't see a blog do you?

Thus, I found an internet cafe (which by the way was only $0.97/hour by the way) as we strolled through the town of Nadi so I could tell you about the beauty of a Hindu temple Srin and I just visited (pictures to be posted later). This temple was unlike any other temple we have seen-sharp and contrasting colors greeted devotees while the open-aired structure lent itself to the crisp (yet hot) weather. Inside, the ceilings told stories of Hinduism, richly depicting religious respect to God. The one that impacted Srin's memory the most was a painting that showed Mount Kailash in the background with Lord Vishnu, Lord Ganesh, Nandi, and so many others in the foreground.

The coolest part was right when we were about to leave, the guy who painted much of the ceiling introduced himself-Santhosh from Kerala. We were so interested in his work that he took us in and showed us around. He comes to Fiji just to paint and then returns home, a job he has had for four years. It seemed he was as interested in us (well, Srin since he is South Indian...) it seemed. My favorite part of the conversation was the story of how Fiji got its Indian population. Apparently, when Fiji was ruled by Britain, there was a need for laborers. The Brits started forcing the Japanese to come and work but to no avail. Next, they tried the Chinese. No joy. Then came the Indians from all over India. Success! Thus, the Indian population that came never returned home, creating what would soon become 40% of the Fijian population.

That's it for now. We are having a great time just relaxing and doing almost nothing! We'll be back in Sydney.


 

Notice the painted ceilings. Hence the Sistine Chapel...



This is the guy who came from India to paint.