AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND, MAY 15, 2001: About 50 Hindu children washed their mother’s feet in traditional Hindu manner to express their appreciation on Mother’s Day. The Matru Puja (mother worship) began with an invocation to Ganesha followed by Sanskrit hymns sung in praise of mothers. The children prostrated to their mothers and washed their feet. They also put turmeric, kumkum and sandalwood on their mother’s feet and forehead. The Auckland event was organized to illustrate the mothers’ importance to their children and to show the way it is done back in India where Hindu mothers represent god and Mother’s Day occurs 365 days a year.
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