Is there some powerful magic emanating from the Hindu shrines at Bangkok's Rajprasong intersection that we the uninitiated don't know about? Huge crowds are routinely drawn to them as if by magnetic force. Are all their wishes granted?

"Thais don't expect miracles to just happen," says historian Paothong Thongchuea. They know if they're to receive divine blessings, they have to do some coaxing.

"If you don't study, how can you pass the exam? You have to put some effort in yourself too."

Dozens of worshippers, mostly female, congregate at the Trimurti shrine on Thursday nights, and love is what they're hoping for. The best time to pray is believed to be 9.30pm.

Trimurti, of course, isn't Cupid. If he has magic, it's indirect - not an arrow through the heart. Come and pay homage, Paothong explains, and you might feel some relief for having done so, and then, "It shows in your face and eyes, and the calm look will attract people to you!"

Whether you're sceptical or one of the faithful, though, you can't help thinking there's perhaps some sacred vortex in this neighbourhood. There are no fewer than four Hindu gods granting audiences here.

Phra Phrom is the resident entity at the famed Erawan Shrine outside the Erawan Hotel. The shrines to Trimurti and Ganesh are by the Isetan complex. The goddess Lakshmi has her shrine on the fourth floor of Gaysorn Plaza.

Narai stands astride a garuda in the form of the Narayana statue in front of the Inter-Continental Hotel. And Amarindradhiraja presides in front of Amarin Plaza.

Their location right in the heart of a major shopping district makes the shrines a natural focus for promotional campaigns by the Ratchaprasong Square Trade Association.

The Bangok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) includes the six shrines in its tourism drives as well.

"If we can promote tours of nine Buddhist temples, why can't we have a tour of the six Hindu shrines, which are all within walking distance of each other," asks BMA Permanent Secretary Khunying Nattanon Taweesin, referring to the New Year tradition of visiting nine temples, an auspicious number. The names of the temples often hint good luck and good life.

"Tourists can come pay respect to the shrines after their shopping," says Nattanon.

Paothong notes that belief in a certain god can change over time and according to the local culture. People may come to the same god for different purposes in different cultures.

Generally, in Thailand today, people turn to Trimurti for love, Ganesh for artistic success, Lakshmi for wealth, Narayana for prosperity, Indra for happiness and Erawan for power.

Lakshmi holds the promise of making devotees fully aware of their surroundings. Erawan removes career and life obstacles, as it was believed to have done when the hotel was built in 1958.

Ganesh wasn't originally a "god of the arts", Paothong says, but his playful nature often incurred trouble.

In bygone days artists and performers had no second shot or retouching, so to get things right the first time, they asked him for help.

When you're touring the shrines, Paothong says, always keep your right shoulder pointed toward their central focal point, right in the Rajprasong intersection.

To do so requires a clockwise tour, just as Lord Buddha was enlightened, so tradition holds, while walking clockwise around the bodhi tree.

Predominantly Hindu countries like India and Nepal have shrines at every street corner, says Paothong, to accommodate merit-makers. The more people who visit, the more merit is shared.

Thais, raised on Buddhist scriptures, seem to need several different Hindu gods in the same area.

"They don't usually pay homage to the same god," Paothong says, "otherwise they'd wonder whether one god's shrine was somehow better than another."

It's widely believed that the six gods were given their downtown stations by building owners seeking the upper hand, but Paothong suggests the gods "often work as a team".

Tonghathai Suddee, a regular at the Erawan Shrine, is unimpressed with plans for a shrine tour. Some might find it a good spiritual idea, but she won't stray beyond Erawan.

"This is the only god I'm faithful to."

Sirinya Wattanasukchai

The Nation