Visiting Sri Lankan chief priest visits local temples - Rising Sun Newspapers

It is heartwarming that Indian culture, especially from a worship point of view, is still being strongly adhered to, a senior Hindu priest from Sri Lanka said at the weekend.

Brahmasri Jagannatha Nagaraja Kurukkal and his wife, Shrimathi Thevamanohari of Colombo, Sri Lanka, are visiting South Africa for the first time as guests of Sambasiva Thanigasala Gurukkal, resident priest at the Stri Muthulinganatha Easvarar Alayam in Cato Manor. Shrimathi Thevamanohari is the youngest sister of Thanigasala Gurukkal.

“I am pleasantly surprised that the various religious groups within the Indian community are strongly upholding their culture more than 16 decades after arriving in South Africa from India,” Nagaraja Gurukkal said. He attended the Maka Shakti Prayer at the Woodhurst Amman temple in Chatsworth where he and his wife tasted fermented mielie meal porridge for the first time. Porridge is made from red rice in Sri Lanka.

Nagaraja Kurukkal is the prominent chief priest of the Naattukkottai Nagaraththaar Sri Kathirvelaayuthaswamy Temple (New Kathiresan Temple) in Bambalapitiya, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

He is well-known for leading the Aadi Vel Festival in Colombo – a major historic Hindu celebration honouring Lord Murugan. It features a grand silver chariot procession carrying the sacred vel (divine spear) travelling from Pettah to Bambalapitiya.

The festival in Colombo began in 1874 when a cholera outbreak stopped pilgrims from walking to Kataragama in southern Sri Lanka.

To contain the spread of the disease, the British colonial administration imposed strict travel restrictions, effectively halting the traditional pilgrimage. Devotees in Colombo were left heartbroken, unable to make their annual journey south.

To ensure that believers could still participate in the sacred rituals from the capital, the Nattukottai Nagarathar community initiated the Colombo Aadi Vel Chariot Procession, in which Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists participate.

Add Rising Sun Newspapers as a Preferred Source on Google and follow us on Google News to see more of our trusted reporting in Google News and Top Stories.