Near Mangalore, India, in the town of Moodabidri, is a Jain temple known as ‘The Temple of a Thousand Pillars’. There aren’t that many pillars, but many little pillars are depicted on the main pillars themselves. I suspect the place has  disappointed some visitors with its promising name. But likely they were happy to see it anyway, because it’s a beautiful temple. It was built in the early 15th century and houses a cult statue of the Tirthankara Chandraprabha, a Jain saint. Jainism  was an offshoot of Hinduism some time in the 5th or 6th century B.C.E. Here, the cult statue, about 8 feet high, is visible in the temple’s inner sanctum. This lamp and offering bowl marked the outer limit that non-Jains could go, barely half way into the temple structure proper. A surly fellow in his white Jain garb was guarding the door. I liked the warm colours in this picture, the flame and the brass of the lamp. The visage of Mahatma Gandhi stares up from a  ten-rupee note in the offering bowl, filled with Sindoor or red Sandalwood powder.