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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2009 16:39:14 GMT
Of course I knew that today was the day, but if there had been any doubt it my mind, it would have been resolved when I looked down at the cleaning crew below my apartment. These people were determined and they knew that a long day of work was ahead. It was still early, but I went to see how the preparations were going. Commercial opportunities were presenting themselves.  The temple itself has seen better days. The surrounding buildings have been demolished, and clearly there has been some structural weakening in the remaining building. The temple will be moving next year, and that will not be a loss at all, because it is just the kitchen of a former restaurant.     Underwhelming, n'est-ce pas? However, all of the demolition freed up an excellent empty space to be used for this year's ceremonies. The new address, facing the other street of the empty space, 17 rue Pajol, will not be extremely luxurious either. The temple website shows the space to be occupied by the new place. Does it really matter what the temple looks like? Absolutely not! What matters is how great the Ganesha festival is every year. (to be continued) |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2009 17:03:28 GMT
I was out and about before 9 a.m. and a lot of places were just starting to put up their decorations. Since everything was under control, I went and did a load of laundry before I returned. The chariots were just beginning to leave the temple.  Vendors were ready with balloons representing famous Indian dieties such as Bugs Bunny, Dora the Explorer, Hello Kitty and many more. Later in the day, I saw that one of the most popular items for both boys and girls were the helicopter balloons with deadly missles on each side. Off we went. The crowd gets bigger and bigger as the various neighborhoods are visited. It is estimated that 20,000 people join the procession at one time or another.      The first coconuts were broken after just a few meters. These represent the world and the human ego, releasing the river of the milk of divine love. It should be mentioned that the street is washed beforehand with a mixture of rose water and saffron, as the truly devout walk the entire route barefooted. A lot of people don't want the broken coconuts to go to waste, so they try to collect what they can before the 'men in green' come through with their brooms and cleaning machines. (to be continued) |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2009 18:28:16 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2009 18:44:54 GMT
Such interesting pictures, Kerouac. Thanks for posting those. I'm not very familiar with this festival, (I suppose I should be really). Do people come from outside of Paris too to see it?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2009 21:17:12 GMT
The two main stars of the parade are Ganesha and Murugan. The veneration of Ganesha is due to the fact that he is the link between the world of men and the higher realms. He guides their destiny by placing or removing obstacles from their path. He inspires scientists and guides students. Jeez, if you believe that, you'll probably believe what other religions say as well. Muruvan is the brother of Ganesh, except that for some reason they did not have the same parents. There are two conflicting stories about the birth of Muruvan. One of them is that he was born from a ray flashing out of his father Shiva's 3rd eye. Cool!  He was able to walk and talk the moment he was born. The other legend says that he was born from Shiva's sperm floating down the Ganges until it coagulated and turned into a baby. Gross!  Back to the festivities! One of the main things is that the faithful give away lots of free stuff. Last year I got a free T-shirt marked "V S Cash & Carry"! But a lot of the stuff is less crassly commercial. These packages of popcorn are free. The garlands of flowers are free, too. I had some excellent coconut balls and some crummy curry fritters, but that's all I accepted this year. But there are hundreds of people giving out cans of soda, aluminum containers of curry, banana, incense and all manner of strange items. Don't ever accept the plastic bags of chick peas! I learned that years ago. Coconuts await their fate everywhere. They are broken by being thown onto the pavement as violently as possible. People who wear glasses are in less danger of injury when this is being done. |
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 30, 2009 21:40:47 GMT
How absolutely charming! It is impossible to tell in a couple of those photos that they were taken in Europe.
I want to repeat Deyana's question, because it's one of the first things that occurred to me, as well -- do people come from all over France (& other parts of Europe?) to attend this festival?
Also, how large of an area does the festival cover? I assume it's through neighborhoods where there are big populations of people from the Indian sub-continent, yes?
Gad, the Parisian street cleaning crews are driven.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2009 21:51:05 GMT
The itinerary only covers a few kilometers in the 18th and 10 arrondissements in the Indian/Sri Lankan neighborhoods.  (That is Sacré Coeur on the upper left of the map, so all of this is not terribly far from Montmartre.) About 20,000 people participate (that's including people like me), but I don't know how many come from other countries. I do know that it is a major draw for the Indians in the north of France. I will continue the report tomorrow. |
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Post by spindrift on Aug 30, 2009 22:03:12 GMT
Ohhhh....I love seeing this festival. What fun to be there! In Nepal, high up a mountain at a sacrificial temple, I offered a coconut to Kali at her temple but I only put it on a temple step, I didn't break it. Perhaps the pujari did that for me. It was either a coconut or a young goat Did you hear lots of wonderful Indian music? was there chanting? were CDs for sale? Ganesh also brings prosperity. I haven't heard of his brother. I'm fond of Ganesh because he looks so friendly and I love elephants. What was the origin of the Indians attending the festival? |
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Post by spindrift on Aug 30, 2009 22:29:27 GMT
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Post by cristina on Aug 30, 2009 23:48:52 GMT
Your photos are wonderful, Kerouac!
I'm curious about the yellow dusting over the coconuts...is that saffron?
thinking about how expensive saffron is...
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Post by lagatta on Aug 31, 2009 0:55:40 GMT
Perhaps turmeric aka curcuma - much cheaper.
It is Ramadan now too - are there no conflicts between this Hindu festival and Muslim observances? Of course the vast majority of Muslim people in the arrondissement are either Maghrebi or West African, but there must be some South Asian Muslims, no?
Or does everyone get on well, as we hope?
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 31, 2009 1:49:54 GMT
My gosh, the Muslims in that neighborhood must have their noses pressed against the inside of the window, looking hungrily out at the curry fritters, the bananas, the popcorn .....................
Cruel and unusual!
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Post by hwinpp on Aug 31, 2009 3:00:26 GMT
I'm pretty sure for Muslims not from the subcontinent, the followers of Ganesha will come accross as complete and utter heathens... true idolators!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2009 4:48:54 GMT
| While most of the Muslims did indeed stay clear of the festivities, some of them were interested.
A few of the shops run by Muslims were not decorated and tried their best to ignore the festival, but they were only punishing themselves. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2009 5:14:49 GMT
Here is an overview of the ambience.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 31, 2009 5:20:36 GMT
They're carrying bowls of fire on their heads!!
I love all the sounds.
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Post by auntieannie on Aug 31, 2009 16:44:44 GMT
I had never heard of muruvan either. To me, the people looked mostly from sri lanka/southern India?
very interesting! I wonder if there are such festivals in England.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2009 17:12:51 GMT
Yes, most of the Indian community in France is Tamil. The seed was the community from formerly French Pondicherry, but I presume that all of those people had a lot of extended family and tricked them into settling in France.
One thing that I hadn't noticed before but did yesterday was how the Indian families were kissing each other on the cheeks the French way when they met up. This gentle French custom was one of the best ones they could have picked up.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2009 18:19:53 GMT
The women are indeed on fire during the procession. |
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Post by spindrift on Aug 31, 2009 18:54:22 GMT
Interesting about the fire. It must be about purification.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2009 19:10:24 GMT
The fire is full of camphor, and it perfumes the entire neighborhood.
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Post by spindrift on Aug 31, 2009 22:24:10 GMT
Ummmmm....lovely? or perhaps not!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2009 18:07:51 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2009 19:00:33 GMT
This is the first year I saw the 'Mexican hat dance'. Maybe it has something to do with the combined 'Indian-Mexican' restaurants that can be found in the neighborhood.  |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2009 19:40:57 GMT
Great care is given to the little altars. Well, maybe some of them are better than others. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2009 20:19:46 GMT
The peacock dance is an important part of the parade. The peacock is one of the many animal 'vehicles' of Ganesh, since he changes shape constantly. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2009 20:54:54 GMT
Men pull the Ganesha chariot and women pull the Murugan chariot. |
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Post by spindrift on Sept 2, 2009 9:49:56 GMT
In my reply #8 I have inserted the form of the deity Lord Ganesh so that you may see him.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2009 18:22:39 GMT
I am lucky to live at ground zero of the procession. It passes below my windows twice as it crisscrosses the neighborhood. That pretty much wraps of the events of this exquisite day. Of course no day in France is ever complete without a few scraps of politics, and the Tamils still have some serious issues with what happened in Sri Lanka. However, the Tamil Tigers now appear to have been rendered completely inoffensive. My final regret is always when the wonderfully empty street is returned to its life of automobile traffic. |
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 2, 2009 18:34:41 GMT
I think those political signs are extremely important, and the makers of them chose a good venue for them.
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He was able to walk and talk the moment he was born. The other legend says that he was born from Shiva's sperm floating down the Ganges until it coagulated and turned into a baby. Gross! 
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