ABSTRACT
India's landscape is a cultural mosaic of temples, shrines and consecrated monuments that lends the country a distinct identity. But it is the ubiquitous worshipper who reinforces the religious genus of the country's masses. Going to the temple (or any other place of worship) is a daily affair, though setting out on a pilgrimage for a ritual to participate in a faraway festive celebration or to a holy river for a purifying dip are the highlights of many people's lives. This religiosity is a phenomenon of the Indian masses and has attracted the attention of tourists and scholars alike, who have at times remarked on the spectacle with some measure of awe at the fervidity of faith that stirs mammoth crowds for ceremonious undertakings throughout and around India. Some scholars have, however, questioned the pageantry that Hinduism upholds (see Griswold, 1912; Tomalin, 2002, 2004).
