kind of like being back on the J train platform

this is the Karni Mata temple in Deshnok, renowned for its holy rats. around 22,000 of them.

there's a neat story behind it, something about the hindu goddess Durga asking the god of death to resurrect the son of some guy, and when he refuses, she takes all the souls in the underworld and turns them into rats, thereby depriving him of company. something like that. either way, the story was the least of my concerns in this temple, especially since I arrived shortly before dawn in time for their morning feeding. in case you're not sure what's going on in that last photo, those are 2 rats nibbling at my feet -- thank god the sadhu was nice enough to give me booties.