ABSTRACT
Once a year in summer, the streets surrounding the Śrī Śivasubramaniar temple on the periphery of Zurich change into a scene that could easily remind one of a part of Jaffna in the North of Sri Lanka. Like most Tamil temples in Switzerland, the sacred space is located in a rented industrial hall. In 1994 it was inaugurated, ideally suited for Hindu ritual practices just on the shores of the Sihl River in the industrial area of Adliswil, a municipality with a proportion of 29.1 per cent foreign nationals in 2010. 1 Thousands of Tamils – the women traditionally dressed in Sari or the two-piece set shalwar kameez and some men in vēṭti (skr. veṣṭi) – meet to celebrate the annual temple festival, express their devotion to the Hindu Gods and Goddesses in the festively decorated temple, and to buy South Asian candies and Tamil books at the booths in front of the temple. “It feels like home,” is a phrase heard several times during the celebrations. Most of the Swiss cyclists who pass by start pushing their bikes to have a closer look.
