Sri Senpag Vinayagar Temple

Digitalartist · 6th May 2007

There is an interesting 19th Century Hindu temple in Ceylon Street called the Sri Senpaga Vinayagar Temple. I was there in August last year, prior to leaving Singapore for Hanoi for the Crossing Bridges 3 project between Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam & Singapore. It so happened that day was the birthday of Lord Vinayagar, the supreme diety in Hinduism. There were lots of people there and the occassion was a good warm up for our shoot in Sapa.
Lord Vinayagar's form is a statue with four hands, an elephant head and a trunk. As the supreme diety of Hinduism, the first prayer of a Hindu is always to Vinayagar. His blessings and protection is always invoked by Hindus before they do anything. A common prayer to Vinayagar is :-

Vakrathunda Mahaakaaya,
Sooryakoti Samaprabhaa,
Nirvighnam Kurumedeva,
Sarvakaaryeshu Sarvadaa.

Translation : You of the twisted trunk and the massive body, with the dazzle and light of millions of suns. Lead me on a path that has no obstacles nor hindrances. Clearing the way in all that I do, ever, and always...

This is the chief priest of the Senpaga Vinayagar Temple...

And this is his young assistant.....

Hinduism in Singapore is also the religion of choice for some Chinese. This Chinese lady, dressed in a Hindu saree and deep in prayer,caught my eye.

A shaft of sunlight from a skylight lighted this little girl in a special way. She was obviously tired and sleepy and yawned several times…

Families brought their children along to the temple, and everyone had that spot on their foreheads. I have never understood the significance of that bit of paint on a Hindu’s forehead, and maybe a Hindu from this forum can tell me what it is meant to signify. Here's a hindu man receiving blessings.

I shot about 8 gigs of images at the Senpaga Vinayagar Temple that day, all with a convenient 70-200mm f/2.8L on a 1DsM2 which allowed me to shoot from a comfortable distance from my targets. This lens is a gem. The high ISO capability of the 1DsM2, the IS and the f/2.8 max aperture of this lens makes it a brilliant lens for indoor shoots without flash.

Hope to see you all at Tawau and Semporna in the first week of June for the Crossing Bridges 4 this year. Check this LINK for more information about CB4.

Yusuf Hashim

microcosm · 6th May 2007

This series of images should be posted in Street and Reportage as it is more photojournalistic work.

The pictures are awesome save the last show which is pretty off focus. I love the feel of the shot and your post processing. Nice one.

Will03 · 6th May 2007

hey yusuf...v nice images..........

kelccm · 6th May 2007

The 1sr 3 pic are very good. You have really bring focus to the main subject. Can feel the impact there. The b/w processing is nicely done too.

6th May 2007	#1
Digitalartist New Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Kuala Lumpur Posts: 37	Sri Senpag Vinayagar Temple There is an interesting 19th Century Hindu temple in Ceylon Street called the Sri Senpaga Vinayagar Temple. I was there in August last year, prior to leaving Singapore for Hanoi for the Crossing Bridges 3 project between Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam & Singapore. It so happened that day was the birthday of Lord Vinayagar, the supreme diety in Hinduism. There were lots of people there and the occassion was a good warm up for our shoot in Sapa. Lord Vinayagar's form is a statue with four hands, an elephant head and a trunk. As the supreme diety of Hinduism, the first prayer of a Hindu is always to Vinayagar. His blessings and protection is always invoked by Hindus before they do anything. A common prayer to Vinayagar is :- Vakrathunda Mahaakaaya, Sooryakoti Samaprabhaa, Nirvighnam Kurumedeva, Sarvakaaryeshu Sarvadaa. Translation : You of the twisted trunk and the massive body, with the dazzle and light of millions of suns. Lead me on a path that has no obstacles nor hindrances. Clearing the way in all that I do, ever, and always... This is the chief priest of the Senpaga Vinayagar Temple... And this is his young assistant..... Hinduism in Singapore is also the religion of choice for some Chinese. This Chinese lady, dressed in a Hindu saree and deep in prayer,caught my eye. A shaft of sunlight from a skylight lighted this little girl in a special way. She was obviously tired and sleepy and yawned several times… Families brought their children along to the temple, and everyone had that spot on their foreheads. I have never understood the significance of that bit of paint on a Hindu’s forehead, and maybe a Hindu from this forum can tell me what it is meant to signify. Here's a hindu man receiving blessings. I shot about 8 gigs of images at the Senpaga Vinayagar Temple that day, all with a convenient 70-200mm f/2.8L on a 1DsM2 which allowed me to shoot from a comfortable distance from my targets. This lens is a gem. The high ISO capability of the 1DsM2, the IS and the f/2.8 max aperture of this lens makes it a brilliant lens for indoor shoots without flash. Hope to see you all at Tawau and Semporna in the first week of June for the Crossing Bridges 4 this year. Check this LINK for more information about CB4. Yusuf Hashim Last edited by Digitalartist; 6th May 2007 at 02:00 AM.

6th May 2007	#2
microcosm Moderator Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 8,006	Re: Sri Senpag Vinayagar Temple This series of images should be posted in Street and Reportage as it is more photojournalistic work. The pictures are awesome save the last show which is pretty off focus. I love the feel of the shot and your post processing. Nice one.

6th May 2007	#3
Will03 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 4,279	Re: Sri Senpag Vinayagar Temple hey yusuf...v nice images..........

6th May 2007	#4
kelccm Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Somewhere near a chinese lake Posts: 1,109	Re: Sri Senpag Vinayagar Temple The 1sr 3 pic are very good. You have really bring focus to the main subject. Can feel the impact there. The b/w processing is nicely done too. __________________ My Flickr Gallery