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| Hare Krishna Radha Yatra, Mombasa, Kenya |
Currently is Ramadan - this is the fasting time for Muslims.
At this time, Muslims are not allowed to eat or drink during daytime. In the
mornings, the town is very quiet, in the late afternoon, the markets are full -
and then, everybody is out on the streets to buy food for the time after
sundown. Usually, the Old Town is very quiet at night - now, this is completely
different. In the evening, there are many people on the street. They meet, eat,
drink, make walks or visit friends.
For
tourists, Ramadan brings no big no restriction, many shops and restaurants are
also open during daytime. Mombasa’s population is about 70% Muslims, this
means, there are also about 300,000 followers of other religions living here.
In the Mombasa, there is a very big Indian community. These Indians
are Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and Jains. For sure, there are some Indian temples.
Even the Hare Krishna’s are represented here.
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| Hare Krishnas, Mombasa, Kenya |
Of course the Indians celebrate their religious festivals
just as they in India act, e.g., with processions, deities and procession
cars.... At the Hare Krishna temple, I got to know some nice young women. They
were completely excited - just two days later there is Radha Yatra. At this
festival, the statues of the gods are pulled on a processional carriage through
the streets! For sure, I did not want to miss out on this! Particularly as I
have never experienced something like this on my trips through India.... And I
am already late on this trip anyhow and then it already makes no difference
anymore!
And it has
really been worthwhile - a brightly decorated processional carriage, which was
pulled by approx. 50 women and men. Hare Krishna followers from all over the
world, some of them orange dressed women in wonderful saris, a lot of dancing,
singing, drums and fun!!! Simply fantastic!
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| Hare Krishnas, Mombasa, Kenya |
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| Hare Krishnas, Mombasa, Kenya |
