Yesterday, I mentioned that Chinatown was not only home to the Chinese but the Indians as well. This is a shot of the gopuram or monumental tower above the entrance of the Sri Mariamman Hindu Temple in Chinatown.
I love looking at this tower. It's so colorful and impressive, so wonderfully decorated with sculptures and statues depicting deities and characters derived from Hindu mythology.
The Sri Mariamman Temple is the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore, dating back to 1827 although its current structure was actually constructed in 1843. It is a national monument and a major tourist attraction.
Hi Livia, this is wonderful. I remember this from Singapore, long time ago. I think I took print film of it. Do you know of at thing called the Kog ? Chinese sand writers? Near a hospice/hospital? It blended all 7 religions in a fascinating way.
@paulaag Couldn't find any statistics on the actual size of the tower but, may I refer you to this photograph I've found while googling: http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlie_kwan/5973716602/ From that shot, you can see that the bigger figures on the tower are pretty close to being life-sized. 8)
@aquanimity The Kog? My google-fu is failing me, I can't find anything on it. I've not heard of Chinese sand writers in Singapore either. If you have information or links, I'd love to learn more!
@myautofocuslife the Kog - was an association of churches, near a hospice, that I was taken their by a chinese singaporean business colleague over 10 years ago...it was a large room with lots of chinese sand writers, there were pictures of representatives from the 7 religions of the world hanging on the world, and people were lined up to ask questions, I was taken there and asked 2 questions, the chinese sign writers were quite bemused because they told me the representative who handed down the messages to me was the Happy Buddha....it still makes me smile, afterwards we visited sick/elderly people, chatted, then I was given some small books from their library...no focus on religion more a focus on living wisely...if we ever have a coffee someday I will tell you the full story...;-)....Happy researching...it would fabulous to hear it still exists, and Livia...I think you would be special enough to find it. Have fun!
I borrow all lines
nice shot Livia!
@aquanimity The Kog? My google-fu is failing me, I can't find anything on it. I've not heard of Chinese sand writers in Singapore either. If you have information or links, I'd love to learn more!
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