LIVING IN AFGHANISTAN
KABUL: With the onset of the nine-day Hindu festival period of Navratri, Kabul's ancient Hindu temples, steeped in fascinating folklore, are buzzing with a record number of devotees of all faiths.
The focal attraction is Asamai temple at the foothills of Koh-i-Asamai, the central hill feature around which the Afghan capital sprawls. Hundreds of Afghanistan's Hindus and Sikhs as well as Indians employed in reconstruction projects pay their obeisance there every day. The hill is named Asamai after Asha, the goddess of hope said to be residing on the hilltop since time immemorial. Legend goes that the 'Akhand Jyoti' or continuous fire there has been burning uninterrupted for over 4,000 years.
Amazingly, both the temple and the jyoti have survived numerous bloody wars for supremacy over Kabul and are haunting reminders of a time when the entire population of Afghanistan followed Hinduism.
The Asamai temple complex also houses a centuries old 'Panjshir Ka Jogi' stone, named after a Hindu ascetic who, according to legend, was then meditating in the picturesque Panjshir valley.
Irked by the harassment of hostile locals, the good man magically turned himself into a stone one night. Taken aback, the terrified populace approached the Hindus and Sikhs of Kabul who installed the stone in the Asamai temple where it is now worshipped as a sacred wish stone. Interestingly, it is believed that early hymns of the oldest Hindu scripture, the Rig Veda, were composed in the Herat area of Afghanistan.
Kabul boasts another ancient temple complex - Harshri Nath - with temples devoted to Hindu deities Shiva, Saraswati and Ganesha. Tucked away in the depths of the old quarters of the city, the temple attracts several Hindu families who returned to Kabul over the past four years.
