Ganesh Chathurti, the most important festival for Mauritians whose forefathers came from the Indian region of Maharashtra, was celebrated all around the island last Sunday. The most traditional part was certainly the immersion of Ganesh statuettes in Grand-Bassin. After a colourful procession, where Marathi devotees carry their hand-made statuettes, singing with drums to express their faith in Ganesh - they submerge them before the sun goes down. This symbolises the return of Ganesh into the heavenly world.

The Marathi people of Mauritius have been preparing this celebration for one month of fasting and prayers. Some families make the statuettes themselves – like Vimal Sackaram – while others prepare the offerings for Ganesh – sweet cakes and fruits – for the day of celebrations.

According to legend, Ganesh is Shiva’s and Parvati’s son. When Shiva decided to go away for some time to meditate in the Himalaya, his wife Parvati created Ganesh to protect her. She ordered him not to let anyone into the house. But when her husband came back, he was furious to see that someone was preventing him from entering his own house and he beheaded the child.

Parvati was so sad that she implored Shiva to give life to the child again. As an elephant was passing by, he took its head off and put it on the child’s body. This is how Ganesh was born. This divinity represents intelligence and is known to abolish obstacles.

In Mauritius, the Marathi community mobilised to take part in special activities last week. The Marathi Cultural Centre, the Mauritius Mitra Mandal and the Marathi Mandali Federation all organised different activities. There were also events in Bambous on Sunday organised by the Cultural centre and the Bambous Marathi Mitra Mandal to celebrate Ganesh “at a national level.” Traditional dances were organised to pay tribute to the god.