Almost sunset. A little beggar is washing her only clothes in the sacred tank of the Vaitheeswarankoil temple in Tamil Nadu. The red string she is wearing around her waist is what all children have on, to keep the evil eye away.

The Vaitheeswarankoil temple (koil, or kovil means temple in the Tamil language) is dedicated to Lord Shiva and his wife Parvati. The gopuram (temple tower) is exquisitely decorated with hundreds of brightly painted deities. A colourful corridor, as I had never seen before, leads into the main prayer halls.