PARIS, FRANCE, September 3, 2001: Celebrating Ganesha’s birthday with pomp and gaiety, French Hindus honored the Lord of Categories in a procession for seven kilometers in about four hours. Ganesha murthis were mounted on a five-metre-tall chariot outside the Mannika Temple and pulled by devotees amidst devotional singing, dancing, and offering of sweets. Traditionally, the murthis would have been immersed in a river, but this parade returned to the temple where thousands of coconuts were offered to Ganesha before his Murthi was returned to the sanctum. For the occasion, Paris decorated its streets, loud speakers played hymns praising Lord Vinayaka, the press promoted the festival and thousands were able to express their bhakti.
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