Hare Vishal

I went out on the town with a friend of mine on Sunday. We were going to go shopping but the shops were shut so my friend suggested we visit a local temple.

As we approached the temple I looked longingly at the people in Soho square. It was a lovely hot day and a few cans of beer in the square would have been great, but I am trying to cut down on alcohol so the temple it was.

We went in and went upstairs where a woman was waiting , guiding visitors. She said something to Gihan and he went to take his shoes off. So I approached the woman myself to hear what she was saying. She had a bit of an accent so when she answered my question of "Sorry, what did you say was happening in 5 minutes?" with "There will be dancing then the curtain will be drawn back to reveal the deities." I wasn't sure I had heard correctly. Did she say deities? God like beings right here in Soho? seriously? behind that curtain?

My curiosity piqued I took off my shoes and joined my friend. Sure enough, after the dancing the curtain was drawn back to reveal, as promised, the deities. OR as some might have it, the curtain was drawn back to reveal the DOLLS.

Big, expensive, pretty looking dolls, but dolls nonetheless.

Over the next 15 minutes a lot of fuss was made over the dolls/deities. They were fanned and had scented smoke blown over them and people bowed in front of them. At one point several people (including myself) were shunted to one side to create a parting of the small crowd that had formed. When I looked to see what this parting was for , I saw that it was so a hitherto unnoticed deity-doll at the back of the room could have a clear view of the two deity-dolls at the front.

Now, because I often feel the need to try and be a cynical smartass, this whole thing may seem ludicrous, but it wasn't. It was done with such clear eyed sincerity and joy that I really felt swept up by the whole thing. The heat (it was one of the hottest days of the year) and the music were hypnotic.

When Gihan asked if I wanted to go I had said no. I had wanted to see what happened next. And I'm glad I did. What followed was some incredibly beautiful chanting. They repeated the hare Krishna chant in so many ways it was amazing. Really uplifting and relaxing.
Cheers guys.