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It was an early Friday morning in July 2017. I had just left my lodge and on the way to Brihadishvara temple, Tanjore. Suffice to say this visit had me sleepless the entire night. The last I saw this breathtaking monument was in December 1992, as a child with my folks, just moments before they closed with the night pooja. I remember a vivid image of a towering shiv linga, mosaic in design, coming into view as the priest raised the Aarti. It was a moment of sheer awe and one so hard to put into context. It was a moonless night and the entire temple complex was pitch black. Through the darkness I could only make out the silhouette of shiv lingas all around. Needless to say, both the image and experience had been etched in me all the years and now I was back here again. An epicentre of spirituality and architecture unsurpassed through the ages. As I made my way past the entrance gopuram the full scale of the complex came into view. Under the morning sun the whole place was a marvel to behold. This was a spectacle of Dravidian architecture fully realized. Approaching the main sanctum it came to my realization that the morning pooja for the temple was about to commence. I quickly zipped past the devotees gathering right to the front. I had to see it for myself once more up close. By now, the priests were urging everyone to push back to make way. 15 minutes passed and there was fever pitch of anticipation in the air so thick you could feel people in a sort of trance. And then I heard it, the sounds of bells being rung by the priest behind the closed curtains. In a single motion, the curtains flung open and the chief priest raised the Aarti. Time for a brief moment stood still, if only to embrace the the full breadth of the moment. There in front of me was Shiva in all his glory. It was no mosaic shiv linga as I remembered it from 25 years before but a towering linga with vasuki (shiva's snake) above him. In my mind now I had 2 separate images from 2 different times and it became clear that what I began to appreciate as a child going for temple pilgrimages with my parents had come full circle now with me realizing the power of this moment and being able to absorb divinity in all its grandeur. The chants of priests and devotees alike ricocheting throughout the main sanctum was both testament to the faith of a billion Hindus and their practices through time as the oldest of religions. Walking around the temple now it became clearer than ever the images of childhood and the fascination of a man now with the intricate artwork and science put into designing such a complex. The main vimana in itself one of the most thought provoking sculptures ever created with a scale unprecedented before and since. The 237 shiv lingas surrounding the temple come into light bringing it with it a sense of peace within myself. The energy of this place was not to be trifled with. The kings of before and their men have all bowed their heads in penance before this place, and its aura and importance remains unfazed even as civilization turns the hands of time. 25 years is a lifetime but to have the opportunity to revisit Brihadishvara Temple is something I consider one of life's greatest privileges. How much is known and so much more will never be while the ages of men walk by one of the greatest religious monument; bathed in mystery and wonder.