FRESCAROLO, ITALY, August 4, 2014 (Gazzetta Di Parma): The Hindu community of the Parma region celebrated the seventh anniversary of their Shree Nav Durga temple on Saturday evening August 2nd. In a marvelous show of color and warmth, hundreds of people, coming mostly from Punjab, came together in friendship and religious community. They were celebrating the rites of sacred Hindu tradition. Everything was done in a setting that visually unites the two cultures: the bales of hay from our Italian farms and the smoke of the incense of a Indian brazier. [HPI: The temple has been constructed inside a large barn in the middle of farm country.]
In the olden days it was not easy to reach holy places, so it was customary to offer food to those who came. This they are also did on this lovely evening in Frescarolo. Among the many interesting different dishes of food, they served the Jalebi, a sweet made of chickpea flour and baking powder. And to drink, a glass of milk with rose syrup. Ashu, a young man working in Polesine, explained politely how the foods are prepared. “I do not eat meat because we think it is not necessary to kill to feed ourselves,” he added.
We also met some Hindu monks, ministers of the religion, including Swami Priyanandagiri, a Ligurian, who lives in the monastery of Altare, near Savona. Embracing the Hindu religion they’ve forgotten their Italian names. They spoke of “respect and spiritual energies taken from the feet,” which are bare inside places of worship. The chief organizer of this event was Lalit Sharma, active in the local Indian community.