Submitted by Rebecca Beswick on the 2022 spring semester exchange program with the National University of Singapore…
Singapore is home to a vast array of religions. On my recent trip to Little India, I experienced quite a few of them. January 15th, the day I visited, landed right in the middle of the Hindu celebration Pongal, which marks the end of the winter solstice. After taking in the flowers and colorful crafts the Indian Heritage Center had out for kids, I moved on down the street to where there was a line of historic temples. Right next to each other were two Hindu temples and two Chinese Buddhist temples. I was able to go inside with long pants and after removing my shoes, and observed the statues and decorations. One of the Buddhist temples, named the temple of 1,000 lights, was home to a giant Buddha statue and had a pamphlet for visitors so I could read about the history of the building.
