After they spread pink petals on golden statues of Ganesh and Shiva, and recited prayers to blue-skinned and eight-armed gods, the Hindu faithful left their temple and headed to a party for another one of their divinities - the Catholic St. Rosalia.
Palermo is prone to this kind of medley. It is a city that sits between continents, shaped by the overlapping of Greek, Byzantine, Arab, Norman and Spanish civilizations, which hundreds of years ago made it a cosmopolitan, open, and refined metropolis.
The blurring of lines between faiths, origins, and traditions stands in stark contrast to a growing political discourse in Italy and Europe that insists on firm borders between nations and religions, and immutable identities.
Swasthika Sasiyendran and her mother, Eswari Sasiyendran, members of the Tamil community of Palermo, putting on earrings and getting ready to go to the Hindu temple.
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