AFGHANISTAN, August 26, 2011 (by Riazat Butt): “This is the Goddess Durga,” says Lance Corporal Prithvi, gesturing towards the shrine containing a statue of the Hindu deity. “She represents power. At this moment we pray to her because she gives us power to defeat evil forces.” Above the shrine is a hanging featuring the God Hanuman, to its right a poster of the Lord Shiva, to the left another poster of the Goddess Durga and, next to her, a poster of Lakshmi.
The temple is in Lashkar Gah and has only been open a few months. “It was one of the first things we did when we got here in April, as soon as our freight arrived,” says Prithvi, from 2nd Battallion the Royal Ghurka Rifles, who is originally from Nepal. Every morning the 20 Gurkhas say prayers, light candles and apply the tilaka to the statue.
It is Prithvi’s second tour of Afghanistan. “In my first tour we were ground-holding, we were fighting and it was a different experience. We lost some our friends. Because of the situation, I’m glad there is somewhere to pray.”
This is the only temple of its kind. When the Gurkhas leave Lashkar Gah, so will the temple.
View a gallery of the Gurkhas’ Hindu temple at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gurkhas