MAURITIUS, February 23, 2017 (Le Mauricien): Since this morning, with the return of the pilgrims of the sacred lake for Maha Shivaratree, the count grows by the hour. Everything seems to indicate that 300,000 visitors to Ganga Talao will have arrived by this evening. For their part, the authorities are maintaining the security measures on the road to Grand Bassin for tomorrow as well as during the weekend as many Mauritians are preparing to go there to complete the celebrations of Maha Shivaratree.
With the pilgrims taking the way back, the main arteries leading to the capital have experienced traffic congestion since very early this morning. But by the end of the morning, the situation was expected to return to normal. Many devotees, having made their long annual march to the sacred lake of Grand Bassin, are already back and are preparing to participate in the great night of Shiva in the temples all over the country. The water brought back from Ganga Talao will be poured on the Shivalingam during the night from Friday to Saturday to pay tribute to “the one who had swallowed poison to save mankind.”
Maha Shivaratree is an occasion for social and collective relations with the participation of Mauritians of different religious denominations. The public will have noticed this year a decrease in the number of pilgrims carrying kanwars and the devotees will have found, along their route, the spirit of fraternity and solidarity of the Mauritians. Oversized kanwars, however, caused a monstrous traffic jam at La Marie. The police will have taken several measures to ensure the smooth flow of traffic. Many improvements were noted this year in Grand Bassin. The temples were repainted while cement structures were installed to facilitate rituals on the shores of the sacred lake.
Videos available at:
Mahashivratri show in Mauritius at Grand Bassin 2017 (2:39)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HHToYCP0Zs
Mahashivratri 2017 in Mauritius at Goodlands (9:41)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skA6jzXMwig