Lord Ayyappa has an abode in Uganda too

KOZHIKODE: It might be the last thing one would expect - an Ayyappa temple in Uganda. But every year, when the famous Makara Jyothi rises over Sabarimala, a priest would be carrying out rituals in a makeshift temple in this East African nation. The temple was set up by a group of South Indians in the capital city of Kampala over ten years ago. The structure, which is currently one that can be shifted from place to place, is kept in  the devotees’ houses during different times of the year due to lack of permanent land to establish the temple. But during the festival season, the temple is housed in the auditorium of a local school and the priest is flown in from the country to conduct special poojas during the season.   “The temple was set up  by three people, including me, and two other NRIs, Janardhanan and Satheesh who are currently back in the country. The association has many members from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. In 2009, we formally registered ourselves under the name ‘Kampala Ayyappa Seva Sangam’ with the government as an NGO. The rituals are now attended by over 500 people. Our immediate aim is to find a permanent home for our temple. Hopefully, with contributions from devotees and cooperation from locals, we will be able to do this soon. When the temple is made a permanent one, we will also look to hire a full-time priest,” said association secretary Sasi Kumar V.For the first eight years of its existence, rituals at the temple had been carried out by priests from a temple in Nairobi.