Kenya: celebration of the goddess

Navratri, the longest festival in the Hindu year & has been taking place for nine nights in Nairobi, Kenya.  

The Asian quarters of Mombasa and Nairobi become vibrantly alive and it is at this time that one can observe how traditionally rich the Asian African community actually is.  

Kenya has one of the largest migrations of Asians in Africa. The population is estimated to be around one hundred thousand, many of whom are fifth generation Kenyan. Outsiders will simply lump together the community as ‘Asians’ and have no idea that the populace combines a plethora of different religions, sects and castes. Day to day activities are still steeped in deeply-rooted cultural south Asian customs, and some say their traditions are twenty years behind India’s vastly growing modernization. The Asian African community in Kenya has flourished economically and remains increasingly dynamic both socially and politically.