The scenic mountains form the beautiful and ancient canvas behind the city of Puttaparthi.

The small city of Puttaparthi seen from the nearby mountains.

A portrait of Sai Baba blessing passengers on the Puttaparthi-Bangalore route. The two-hand blessing mudra is very hip, ten points to Baba.

A mountain tree reaching down for water. Nature is filled with powerful symbols, better contemplated on than spelled out, so manifold in their meanings.

The ancient spirit: A moment of silence on a solitary, pristine mountain a few kilometers outside Puttaparthi in Karnataka.

A reminder of death in the wilderness beside the railway track leading to Chennai.

Scenic clouds floating across the skyscape of Varanasi a few days back.

Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune, seated on a lotus, depicted in a typical Southern style.

Vishnu, with his two shaktis (Sri and Bhu assumed), riding Garuda above the gate of a temple in Bangalore.

For Gaura-purnima, a view from the Chausatti Mahanta memorial yard from Vrindavana. The main text reads, "Sri-Sri Krishna-Caitanya Mahaprabhu", with the "ujjvala-varana" verse above and "harer nama" and "bhajo guru gauranga" below.

An ancient Ashokan pillar at Sarnath with inscriptions in the now obsolete Brahmi script.

With Ven. Dhammasaro, an Irish monk from Thailand, at the Dhammek Stupa in Thailand a few moments after shaving and formally accepting the ti-sarana (refuge of the triple gem) and the atta-sila (eight precepts).

"My, what happened to your hair and beard?" Someone actually asked the question. From right to left in the Ganges: Mr. Beard, Mr. Hair, Mr. Clay Cup and Mr. Rock in their final abode.

On the roof of our guest house after a powerful meditation hour at the Kedar temple hosting the self-manifest Ardha-Narishwara Lingam on the bank of the Ganga.

A Zen-inspired sign at Mughal Sarai railway station to restrict undue fob orbital movement in the railway station periphery.

A lazy crocodile lounging in the mid-day sun in the small zoo attached to the Deer Park at Sarnath.

Some of the gorgeous deer in the Deer Park at Sarnath.

Pilgrims have spotted specimens of Anandus Macchus floating down the Ganges stream towards unknown destinations... More to follow.

Mula Gandha Kuti Vihara, the beautifully constructed main temple in Isipatana at Sarnath.

A view from Harischanda Ghat, the smaller of the two burning ghats of Varanasi. On the left, a body wrapped up and ready for burning. On the right, a pyre almost burnt.

A view of the ghats of Varanasi with old buildings on the background.

Contrary to rumors, I have not converted to Shaivism. This is the style after a bath in the Ganga and a visit to the Vishwanath temple.

The first of the four Buddhas, presiding at the entrance of the Vishwa Shanti Stupa.

The new Vishva Shanti Stupa at the Indraprastha Park in Delhi, a sizable monument with four golden Buddhas on its four sides. It was inaugurated in November 2007.