Taking Soundings

Abstract

At 8.30 a.m. we went to the Hindu temple on Todd Street (Plate 2). The sandhya puja (daily prayers) had not yet started, as Mr. Ramsamooj was still en route from Corinth, a village on the eastern outskirts of San Fernando, where he conducts an early morning service. Mr. Bramadath Maharaj introduced himself, saying that the saddhu the puja, or ceremony, and the words of several mantras (ritual utterances). Once Mr. Ramsamooj had arrived, the worship proceeded with hymns and prayers, sung and recited in unison, in Hindi and English alternately. Mr. Ramsamooj led the singing. At midpoint, five boys and girls went up to the altar one by one and took a dia, moving it in a clockwise direction and performing aarti (worship) before the images of the gods and over the blue Ungarn. The number five is believed to be propitious by Hindus.