Shri Temple + Kensal Greens Graveyards
this time in london Travels, we headed into a residential area with the intention of visiting the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Temple.
This is Europe’s first Traditional Hindu Mandir Temple, constructed just as one would be in india. Many volunteers helped in the construction of the temple, as made in the vision of the leader, Pramukh Swami Maharaj. The tour we had of the building consisted of a walking segment, followed by an invitation to take part in the Temple’s ritual service. Even with the chance to see the interior design of the temple, i decided not to go. Reading so much richard dawkins and christopher Hitchens has led me to just not bother with the idea of taking part in ceremonies like this.
After our lunch and a visit to a quant indian restaurant and grocery store, we then headed to london’s Kensal Greens graveyard and the Catacombs. First, we visited the Catacombs, where a large number of coffins were kept. You see, much in the same way that you can get buried in a churchyard, you can also choose to get placed in a section of the catacombs, a very large, brick-layered (nearly-sewer like) old age morgue, only acting as a final resting place. The place is well ventilated and lit, so it was not as smelly and spooky as one would imagine.
We then took a tour of the Kensal Greens Cemetery, where many different sorts of monuments of all sizes and shapes were to commemorate those resting below. Many interesting folks were buried here, but the scenic area and monuments were too interesting for me to take note of them. A slight rain shower through the tour was just enough to set us in a bit of a somber mood, but don’t fully fret!
The sun would pop out, just as we were to head out to return to Harlow Mill.
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