Festivals and Events
According to the Pakistan Hindu Council, Swaminarayan Jayanti, Ram Navami, Janmastami, Dussehra, Diwali and almost all of the main religious festivals are celebrated by Hindus in this temple. Holi is celebrated with the holi bonfire lit at the centre of the temple grounds, followed by the play with colours. Janmashtami is celebrated with singing bhajans and sermons on Krishna, whiles on Diwali, devotees light lamps and candles to welcome Rama from his fourteen-year exile, at the end of which he defeated Ravana and young men burst crackers at the temple on the occasion. The Holi festival celebrations that take place at this temple are the biggest in Karachi.
The temple also doubles up as a marriage venue. In 2008, a mass wedding arrangement was made for 20 poor couples.
Read more about this topic: Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Karachi
Famous quotes containing the words festivals and/or events:
“Why wont they let a year die without bringing in a new one on the instant, cant they use birth control on time? I want an interregnum. The stupid years patter on with unrelenting feet, never stopping—rising to little monotonous peaks in our imaginations at festivals like New Year’s and Easter and Christmas—But, goodness, why need they do it?”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)
“One cannot be a good historian of the outward, visible world without giving some thought to the hidden, private life of ordinary people; and on the other hand one cannot be a good historian of this inner life without taking into account outward events where these are relevant. They are two orders of fact which reflect each other, which are always linked and which sometimes provoke each other.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)