OK I have the information about the Hindu event that I attended last Sunday. It's called a Puja. In this particular case, the priests were inaugurating the Shiva statue for the first time in this new temple. The temple is called Shiva Nataharaja Temple. Satprem told me that the temple was origionally cheaply built from fiberglass panels and aluminum in the shape of a pyrimid. The dimentions were incorrect relative to the classic Great Pyramid. The orientation of the pyramid was inccorect as well. Adding to it all, the temple origionally opened east, which is usually the correct direction for most temples but not for Nataharaja. As Satprem put it "the tsunami could not possibly have had any mercy on this temple"
Satprem corrected all the errors and now the temple is of the correct dimentions, oriented correctly, and opening on the correct side. (South) The pictures of the outside probably don't look like much but remember that it's still not finished. One thing you really can't see from the photographs is that the pyrimid is build from pure compressive masonry. (not steel and concrete). But, unlike the pyrimids in Egypt, this pyramid is hollow inside. Satprem calculated the stability for what's called a cloister dome finished to look like a pyrimid on the outside. As a result, the inside has the tell-tail bond pattern of brick work and a slight arch-like inward curve in the walls. It's actually quite pleasing. Ultimately, I believe that the exterior of the pyrimid will be clad in some sort of nicer stone.
The man who sponsored the temple is Karant Singh. He's a maharajah or some kind of prince from Kashmir. While walking along the beach after the Puja I ran into the local fishermen told me about him and how generous he was. They also mentioned how disappointed they were with the government for not helping after the tsunami. Their new houses were payed for by a Norwegian NGO.
Tonight it rained. Hard. It's the beginning of the second monsoon. I have not seen rain like this in a long time. It was coming down in buckets. A few of the guys were out shopping, or to get dinner and got stuck out in the rain. Omar said "It was a like a nightmare I once had. Only it was real... and in my nightmare I was walking... not riding a moped... in blinding rain."
The rain really seems to bring out the termites and ants. But at least the mosquitoes go away for a while.
Satprem corrected all the errors and now the temple is of the correct dimentions, oriented correctly, and opening on the correct side. (South) The pictures of the outside probably don't look like much but remember that it's still not finished. One thing you really can't see from the photographs is that the pyrimid is build from pure compressive masonry. (not steel and concrete). But, unlike the pyrimids in Egypt, this pyramid is hollow inside. Satprem calculated the stability for what's called a cloister dome finished to look like a pyrimid on the outside. As a result, the inside has the tell-tail bond pattern of brick work and a slight arch-like inward curve in the walls. It's actually quite pleasing. Ultimately, I believe that the exterior of the pyrimid will be clad in some sort of nicer stone.
The man who sponsored the temple is Karant Singh. He's a maharajah or some kind of prince from Kashmir. While walking along the beach after the Puja I ran into the local fishermen told me about him and how generous he was. They also mentioned how disappointed they were with the government for not helping after the tsunami. Their new houses were payed for by a Norwegian NGO.
Tonight it rained. Hard. It's the beginning of the second monsoon. I have not seen rain like this in a long time. It was coming down in buckets. A few of the guys were out shopping, or to get dinner and got stuck out in the rain. Omar said "It was a like a nightmare I once had. Only it was real... and in my nightmare I was walking... not riding a moped... in blinding rain."
The rain really seems to bring out the termites and ants. But at least the mosquitoes go away for a while.
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