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REUNION, FRANCE, July 7, 2003: July, 2003, marked a highpoint in the religious life of the Tamil community of Reunion island. Thousands gathered on July 6 for the Maha Kumbahishegam of the Siva Soupramanien temple of Petit-Bazar on Avenue Ile-of-France in the town of Saint-Andre. The ten-day ceremony was presided over by Shivacharia Kayaroganam Bala Soupramanien from Tiruchy (Tamil Nadu). Four other priests were flown in from India to assist him and Natarajan Thangappan Gurukkal, the temple’s priest. The temple was founded in a small hut in 1900. Many improvements occurred since that time. But now, after eight years of construction, the temple has been completely renovated. Even the deities are new. John Kichenin, president of L’association Siva Soupramanien, explained that hundreds of thousands of dollars (US) were donated to cover construction costs. “The temple needed a renovation as the number of worshippers at the Cavadee festival has grown in recent years. In 1977, we counted 60 penitents performing the cavadee, we passed 125 in 1988, 286 in 1998 and 382 in 2003, and this is not counting the thousands of devotees that accompany the penitents every year.”

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