Friday 9 October 2015

Day 9: Ganga Talao Hindu temple

If you go on holidays to Mauritius, one of the compulsory visit is the Hindu temple in Grand Bassin,  also known as "Ganga Talao".

It's built near a volcanic lake and the temple is accessed by walking all around it.





 
Along the lake, you can see various representations of gods, however their names are not mentioned. Fabrice previously told us the names of the gods were displayed for visitors, but they were removed because the place started to look too "touristic" and  it's primarily a place of prayer.



Every year, during the Maha Shivarathree (Hindu festival), thousands of pilgrims come from all corners of the island, on foot, to pray in the temple and cleanse themselves with the lake's holy water.

In front of the temple, several Gods are represented



Mauritian of Hindu confession regularly come to pray in this place and make offerings. On the picture above, you can see it consists of bananas, coconuts and various fruits.


You can also receive a blessing inside the temple.

The general atmosphere is very fervent. Obviously, there are many tourists, but it does not seem to stop people worshipping. It feels like this place has kept its "original" atmosphere, especially because the surroundings haven't been transformed into a "Hindu religion" marketing machine (like Lourdes for the Catholic just to name one)...