Celebrating the birth of Krishna
After a full days hard cycling we'd reached Brackenfell and the KAilash-nath Ashram where we were to spend the night. Hungry and tired we spent the whole evening up til midnight chanting and burning incense inside the temple, and at midnight the Krishna Idol was taken from its position on the altar and put in a miniature cradle. Then everyone in the temple had to rock the Idol in its cradle, to symbolise its birth. Then we burned rice and sugar for half an hour on a small bonfire, while chanting HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA HARE RAM< RAMA< RAMA>
Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted in 1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s pressured the monarchy (one of the oldest on the continent) to grudgingly a... ... read more 
