Southall

Written inside Sikh gurdwara: Inside this gurdwara, I feel something very like the spirit. I feel as positive as one can ever be that these people will be exalted for their devotion and goodness. In the main circular part of the temple, I like the white cloth covering the floors. It feels like very sacred ground, and all the people there genuinely respect that. The architecture is beautiful, but understated, calling attention to the one decorative thing in the room: the shrine where their holy book rests. Golden, and beautiful, the people come to kneel in front of it. My favorite sight was seeing a young father help teach his toddler to kneel at the book as well. Mormons and Sikhs really do have a lot in common. I find myself with a profound reverence and respect. There is some kind of service ever happening—a woman's voice reading scripture in a tongue foreign to me. Punjabi?

I love to see the orthodox Sikh men in their turbans and beard-twists, wearing modern clothes. The women's traditional clothing is beautiful, modest, and not flashy. Its appeal doesn't lie in a tight fit or low neckline, but in its simply beautiful ornamentation. It doesn't strike me as vain—it's just another part of their worship. Beautiful, modest, simply adorned women I feel is an ideal both Sikhs and Mormons share. There are glass booths with numbers on them. I wonder what they're for.

In the gurdwara, I walked up the aisle and placed coins in the offering box, kneeling and touching my forehead to the ground as I saw other people do. After leaving, we went down the stairs and ate lunch. A free meal, known as langar, is served at every gurdwara around the world, no questions asked. The food was delicious, and it tasted even better to me knowing that it was given to me with no expectation of return. I felt very conscious of that fact, and very grateful. I went and helped wash trays after lunch, until we went in for the question and answer session.

We were all required to cover our heads in the gurdwara:

The Hindi Mandir were very different. The first was very small, for one, but there were the same white coverings on the floor as in the gurdwara. There were statues of their gods all around. An older man came up to us and began telling us the story of Krishna and others, to be kind. Sadly, I could not understand most of what he told us. The statues were beautiful, and very grandly decorated. It strikes me as being less modest in ornamentation than the Sikh temple and women. There are things on their foreheads—not just the dots I'm used to seeing, but stripes and gemstones. The people that come in to worship put coins in at the front, and bow, though most did not kneel and touch their forehead to the ground. Many waved their hand over the small flame of the candle burning and then touched their head. All of them prayed silently, though occasionally I could hear a murmured prayer.

Inside the first Hindu mandir, with images of various gods.

This is one of their gods, who I believe is called Ganesha.

After the temples, we wandered the roads of Southall on the way to the Indian restaurant. I especially loved looking at all the beautiful women's clothing and jewelry. The saris and punjabi suits came in many different cuts and styles. I ended up buying a simple green punjabi suit and it was really interesting how much extra attention I got from middle eastern men. (A lot of them flirted with me, far more than had while I was wearing American street clothes. When I went to see Peter Pan, an older Sikh gentleman stopped me and told me he and I were the only two properly dressed people in the room. It was fun.) Many of the outfits at the stores had very elaborate, beautiful beading on them that I admired. If the same beading quality were done in America or London, it would have easily cost four times more! The jewelry was intricate and the earrings were all large and very heavy. There were beautiful scarves and head wraps. The pastry shops had all kinds of things I've never heard of or seen before—I wish I could have tasted all of them! They looked good!

There were so many beautiful dresses and other types of beautifully beaded Indian clothing I looked at--it was dazzling! I know for a fact that all of it, though still expensive, was tremendously underpriced for the quality of the beadwork done. The same type of beading done in America would cost hundreds and hundreds--often even thousands!--of dollars.

I ended up purchasing, shortly before leaving, one of those sticky fried orange things. I don't remember what it was called, but it was tasty, and I enjoyed it.

The Indian food at the restaurant was divine! I can't believe I've never really discovered Indian food before. The flavors all intertwined in complicated ways. It was all delicious. I can't wait to eat more Indian food! Southall was an amazing experience for me.