HINDU TEMPLE IN DOWNTOWN KAMPALA

 According to Hindu religious scripts, Lord Vishwakarma is the lord of the arts, executor of a thousand handicrafts, the carpenter of the gods, the most eminent of artisans, the fashioner of all ornaments...and the great and immortal god (The Mahabharata). Depicted holding a book, a vessel, a rope and craftsmen’s tools in his four hands, who is to say that Lord Vishwakarma, adept in the most advanced of building methods known to man didn’t craft the Shree Sanatan Dharma Mandal Hindu Temple?

Like a jewel amidst dull shards of glass, the SDM Temple looks out of place among the modern buildings in downtown Kampala. Built in 1954 at a cost of 60,000 British Pounds contributed through goodwill, all building materials were imported from India. A masterpiece of Indian masonry, Hindu gods stand sentry on the outside walls of the temple.  To say the intricate stonework is mindboggling is an understatement: who in their right mind would have the time and the patience to handcraft an entire temple in such microscopic detail? The gods actually have personalities--some are frowning, some smiling, and others are downright not amused with the scrutiny we are subjecting them to.  The ridged contours and the curves and towering cream-coloured pinnacles of this beautiful temple were built in accordance with ancient Vedic/Indian principles of art and architecture. 

Contrary to popular belief, the Hindus believe in one Supreme God. Worshiped as a Trinity as the SDM Temple Priest, Chaitanya Upadhyay explains: G.O.D signifies the Generator/ Creator, Lord Brahma; the Organiser, Lord Krishna/Vishnu and the Destroyer, Lord Shiva who altogether form the Trinity. The 33 million different gods in Hinduism, both male and female are simply the forms or avatars of God, but there is only one God, the friendly soft spoken Priest clarifies.

“Hindu religion is like the mother of (all) religions. Hindu is the oldest religion (at) more than 6,000 years,” he states with conviction. Hindu, he says, is like the trunk and other religions like Islam and Christianity, the branches of religions in the world.  

The priest gives us a grand tour of the interior of the temple which is just as impressive as the exterior, if not more. The much stigmatised swastika at the gates I am informed is actually an ancient Indian symbol denoting well-being or luck.  A much-revered cow statue welcomes us at the entrance alongside that of a tortoise draped in pink. Walking into the inner sanctum of the temple, one automatically feels inner peace surrounded by the various statues of gods. Indian faithfuls come in and ring smooth-worn copper bells, we are told, to ward off evil. They prostrate themselves in prayer very much like the Baganda do for the Kabaka.  

On our way out, Priest Chaitanya offers us scented holy water from a temple in India. It smells of flowers and tastes slightly bitter but the entire experience has dropped scales from our eyes. Hinduism as a religion is not as alien as many people take it to be.