Former Machachari actor Ian Nene alias Almasi recently visited Mombasa and he was headlining the Jagannath Rath Rath Yatra Festival.
Through an Instagram post shared, the UK-based actor updated his fans that this year’s Indian festival was specifically the best for him because he got to celebrate with his fellow Kenyans.
“Jagannatha Rathayatra in Mombasa Kenya for me was by far THE BEST RATHAYATRA EVER!!!! UNMATCHED! ECSTATIC! 🤪🥰❤️. Dancing and chanting with my fellow Kenyan family was one of the greatest gifts I received from this short trip I had back home 🥰❤️.O Jagannath, Lord of the Universe, kindly be visible unto me,” he wrote.
Jagannath Rath Rath Yatra is an Indian festival dedicated to worshipping Lord Krishna, his elder brother Balbhadra and younger sister Subhadra. This year’s celebration was on Thursday, June 20, 2023.
Ian Nene converts to Hinduism
Speaking to YouTuber Shivani Pau, the actor revealed the nitty-gritty of what led to his conversion to Hinduism.
Ian talked about how he was raised in a Christian home where questioning religious beliefs was taboo despite having so many unclear answers about faith and religion as a whole.
The Machachari actor revealed that his journey to finding himself spiritually kickstarted when he joined university in the UK where he met a weed dealer friend who gave him a book he got from a monk.
The ‘zen’ actor stated that the book changed his course in life and that’s how his hunger for deep spirituality got stronger and he started seeking more than Christianity could offer.
“When I got to the university, I was wild and partying but still connecting a little bit with a dealer (Weed) friend and I was always smoking weed and having some deep conversation and stuff,” he noted
“Randomly, he brings me a book while we are just chilling and getting high. He told me he was a monk but I didn’t understand, he told me if I read the book, I will get some realizations. He gave me the book and a bag of a guitar and I looked at the back of the bag of the guitar and I saw a picture of one of our founders, I didn’t understand it then,” the actor added
The actor also explained that when he came back home for the holidays, his mother broke the news of her cancer diagnosis to him and he was lost resorting to smoking weed to numb his pain.
“My mum told me that the doctors said she had stage four breast cancer. I am a Mama’s boy. My mum raised me single-handedly, and my dad was never around my life,” he revealed.
“I started getting higher even more, I asked God why He had allowed my mum to suffer, ‘If you truly exist, why do you allow bad things to happen to good people? My mum here serves everyone and even people outside the community she helps so many people yet she is the one getting cancer,‘” Ian said.
Attributing a Facebook post to his current spirituality, the actor revealed that a post by one of his friends of a peaceful ‘zen’ looking lady with some marks prompted him to convert.
“I could not understand. I was scrolling on Facebook and I saw a picture of a lady who had some marks on her face, she looked peaceful and her picture was posted by one of my old friends,” he said.
“I was invited to a temple and I started learning and they were answering all my questions deeply and scientifically and how God is maneuvering this world and a lot of technical questions,” he added.
Adding: “I became a vegetarian immediately and when I went back to the UK, I met monks and they took me to a temple, where I spent most of the times, especially during holidays, and dedicated even more cohesive time to it after am done with school,”
Ian Nene is now back in the UK after a successful Indian festival.
