Friday 15 August 2014

Religious melting pot in Waterloo St

Religious melting pot in Waterloo St



Besides Hindu worshippers, the Sri Krishnan Temple in Waterloo Street also sees devotees from the Chinese temple next door stopping by to light joss sticks and say quiet prayers. -- PHOTOS: CHEW SENG KIM, SRI KRISHNAN TEMPLE

It is after midday on a Friday and the Sri Krishnan Temple in the Bugis area is closed for the afternoon. But this does not stop a constant stream of Chinese devotees from stopping in front of it, murmuring silent prayers.

Tendrils of incense rise from joss sticks in an urn with the inscription "Waterloo Chicken Rice" in front of the entrance to the Hindu temple, two doors from the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple known to many as the Simalu Guanyin Temple.

Waterloo Street, where the two venerable places of worship meet, is arguably the best showcase of Singapore's religious melting pot.

The main deity at one temple is Guanyin or the Goddess of Mercy, while Krishnan, a god known to destroy evil and spread love, watches over the other.

But devotees of one temple spill over to the other; the area overflows with fortune tellers, sellers of fresh chrysanthemum and lotus flowers, and cheerful refrains of "Miss, do you want to buy flowers?"

~News courtesy of Straits Times~

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