Rat Temple at Deshnok

Here below is an audio video slideshow of my experience of the Karni Mata temple in Deshnok, northern India, where Hindu devotees worship thousands of holy rats, who are believed to be reincarnations of writers hiding from the wrath of Yama, the Hindu god of death, and who may be born in the next life as holy men.

It's considered lucky to spot a white rat, which I obviously didn't.

It's believed to be a blessing to eat the sweets and milk drenched with rat saliva, but I passed on that as well.

I did find the rats quite cute, and found that I liked having my bare feet tickled by their uninhindered movements. After a while, I was fascinated more by the people who came to the temple, and the cacophony of wonderful sounds in every direction, all of which I tried to depict in this raw montage, below.