Global Celebrations Of Ganesh Chaturthi
August 29, 2007
According to India Daily, Ganesh Chaturthi was celebrated for the first time in London on a grand scale in 2005 by Hindu Culture and Heritage Society, UK. The celebration was organized at the Vishwa Hindu Mandir in Southall with the support of numerous temples. The immersion was done in the river Thames.
In Paris, there is a chariot festival of Sri Manikka Vinayakar temple. Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated for ten days and then the temple’s Utsava Murti (Utsava-Festive, Murti- Idol) of Lord Ganesh is taken on a chariot. This is France’s largest Hindu festival celebrated by over ten thousand devotees. They consist of Sri Lankans, Indian Tamils, and Hindus from different parts of India, Madagascar, Mauritius and French colonies.The procession is accompanied by devotees dancing and singing bhajans. Two water trucks proceed ahead of the chariot and wash the road. The parade covers four miles and returns back to the temple.(Source: Hinduismtoday.com)
(This photograph is the idol of the 2004 Lalbaugh Cha Raja taken from their website)
Sai Samsthan USA located in Warrenville, Illinois also celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi with a lot of enthusiasm and it is attended by numerous devotees. Similarly the North American Sankethi Association, New York get together and perform the Ganesh Puja. Such celebrations are also witnessed in Queens, New York and in Nashville, in the suburban area of Bellevue. The Hindu Temple Society in Miami, Florida celebrates the festivities with grandeur and the Lord is immersed in the sea, north of Miami. In San Francisco Bay Area, the devotees commemorate this festival in a big way. On the last day, they take their Lord to the Baker Beach for immersion.
I am sure each year the celebrations are organized on a grandeur scale with the devotees basking in the glory of the world’s most popular deity-Lord Ganesh.
©Nayna Chakrabarty, 2007. All Rights Reserved.
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