Desi Yellow Pages

Little India in Bangkok Phahurat

Phahurat or Pahurat, often known as Thailand's Little India, is an ethnic neighborhood surrounding Phahurat Road in Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok. The area that would become Phahurat was an enclave of Vietnamese immigrants who came to Siam during the reign of King Taksin (1768-1782). In 1898, a fire broke out and paved way for a road which was named "Phahurat" by King Chulalongkorn in remembrance of his daughter Princess Phahurat Manimai who had died at the age of 10. Many of today's Phahurat residents are of South Asian descent. A Sikh community settled down in the area a century ago and established a textile trading center that is still thriving today. Their temple, the golden-domed Siri Guru Singh Sabha, is a landmark of Phahurat. In addition to the Sikh community, the neighborhood is also home to a number of South Asian Hindus and Muslims.

Although the sprawling of Chinese shops from the nearby Chinatown are slowly spilling over into Phahurat, South Asian restaurants and businesses are still prevalent in the area. The area is also the site of some of the more unusual markets and shopping malls in Bangkok, including the sprawling Sampeng Market, the colonial-styled The Old Siam Plaza, and the new four-storey India.

Chakraphet Road is well known for its Indian restaurants and shops selling Indian sweets. One of the best eateries in the area is the Royal India Restaurant, which serves north Indian cuisine and is justly famous for its tasty selection of Indian breads (Naan and Tandoori Roti). On the opposite side of Chakraphet Road from the Royal India is a Chinese temple. North of this temple, in a back alley on the west side of the road, is a large Sikh temple-turn left before the ATM Department Store to find the entrance. Visitors to the temple-reportedly the second largest Sikh temple outside of India-are welcome but they must remove their shoes and cover their head. If you arrive on a Sikh festival day you can partake in the langar or communal Sikh meal served in the temple.

Several inexpensive Indian food stalls are found in an alley alongside the ATM department store. Behind the store, stretching westward from Chakraphet Road to Triphet Road, is the Pahurat Market.

Pahurat is easily accessible by  walk, after alighting from a Chao Phraya River Express boat at Tha (pier) Saphaan Phut, which is just to the north-west of Phra Phut Yot Fa (Memorial) Bridge.

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Dhakeshwari Hindu Temple in Dhaka

The San Marga Iraivan Temple is a white granite stone Hindu temple sculpted in India and currently under construction on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The temple is dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva. "Iraivan" means "He who is worshipped," and is one of the oldest words for God in the Tamil language.[citation needed] The Iraivan Temple is located next to the Wailua River and five miles (8 km) from Mount Waialeale. It is the first all-stone temple to be built in the United States. It is maintained by the Saiva Siddhanta Church, also known as Kauai Aadheenam and Kauai's Hindu Monastery. Sri Trichy Mahaswamigal of Kailash Ashram, Bangalore, describes the temple's importance: "The Iraivan Temple is going to be to America what the temples of Chidambaram, Madurai, Rameshwaram, and other great Siva temples are to India."

History

The Dhakeshwari temple was built in the 12th century by Ballal Sen, a king of the Sena dynasty, and many say the name of the city was coined after this temple. The current style of architecture of the temple cannot be dated to that period because of numerous repairs, renovations and rebuilding in its long years of existence and its present condition does not clearly show any of its original architectural characteristics. It is considered an essential part of Dhaka's cultural heritage. Many researchers say that the temple is also one of the Shakti Peethas, where the jewel from the crown of the Goddess had fallen. Although there is not enough historical context in order to establish this as a fact, researchers were directed to this site while trying to locate the particular Shakti Peetha. Since ages, the temple has been held in great importance. The original 800-year old statue was destroyed during the War of 1971. The temple was further damaged during the riots of 1989/90.

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Iraivan Hindu Temple in Kuai Hawaii

History

Iraivan Temple was inspired by a vision of Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami in which he saw Lord Shiva walking on the land where the temple is now located. It is intended as a place of pilgrimage for Hindus worldwide. Subramuniyaswami set three parameters for its design and construction:

    * that it follow traditional design according to the Saiva Agamas
    * that it be designed to last 1,000 years
    * that it be entirely carved by hand, without the use of any machinery.

The temple design was completed by Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati in the late 1980s. Carving of the 3,000-plus blocks of granite commenced in 1990 at a worksite in Bangalore, India. Beginning in 2001, the stone were shipped to Kauai and assembly begun by a team of silpi temple carvers under the direction of a master architect or sthapati. The 3.2 million pound temple is expected to be completed in 2017.

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