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Vesak 2007 in Helsinki

The day of Vesak (Sinhalese) is the most holy time in the Buddhist calendar. Vesak, coincides with the first full moon of the Indian month Vaisakh. The date varies from year to year in the Western Gregorian calendar and actually encompasses the birth, enlightenment Nirvana, and passing (Parinirvana) of Gautama Buddha.

In 2007, we had two full moon days in the month of May. One on the 1st and the other on the the 31st of the month. Some countries (including Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Malaysia) celebrated Vesak on the 1st, while the others (Thailand, Singapore) celebrated the holiday on the 31st.

I photographed the Full Moon of Vesak from the Talli Golf Course in Helsinki on the 1st of May, 2007. It was a clear, crisp, windy night and I had difficulties in keeping my hands steady for a perfect shot of the Full Moon. I had to venture out to the Golf course at 22:10 in the night to get a perfect shot of the Buddha Poornima. By the end of the photographic session, both my hands were frozen.