26th Sharadotsav – Festival of autumn and Durga Puja - 2012

Dear Reader,

I narrate here the function of Durga Puja I attended held at Paris in Oct 2012 .It shows how all the ceremonies were held with perfection and full enthsiasum in land which is very far away from India , which gave feeling of Attending-Puja-At-Home-In-India .

 

26th Sharadotsav – Festival of autumn and Durga Puja

From 20th Octobre to 23 October 2012 at House of India, Cite Universitaire

1.

Just like every year 26th Sharadotsav (Festival of Autumn and  Durga Puja) was celebrated at House of India, Cite Universitaire .

All pujas were done by Swami Veetamohananda and as per him worship of Mother Durga brings several benefits to all who are sincere:-

1. One is freed from stress,anxiety and fear.
2. The votary overcomes all sorts of planetry forces.
3. All sins are pardoned and thus devotee enjoys prosperity and good health.
4. The aspirant develops pure intelligence and knowledge to progress in life.
5. The world is freed from aggressive, oppressive and destructive self-forces.

 

 

2.
The programme comprised of celebrations for 4 days :-
MahaShasti(6^th day),
MahaSaptami(7^th day),
MahaAshtami(8^th day) ,and
MahaNavmi()9^th day .

3.
On MahaShasti it was started with setting up of Pandaal of Puja and an evening aarti.

 

4.
On MahaSaptami there was Saptami Puja followed by Pushpanjli(offering flowers/fruits/Saaris ,sindur,bangles to Goddess Durga) in morning and there was recital of Mantras of devi Durga and aarti in evening.

 

 

5.
On MahaAshtami there was Ashtami Puja followed by Pushpanjli in morning and there was recital of Mantras of devi Durga and aarti in evening.

 

6.
On Mahanavmi there was Ashtami Puja followed by Pushpanjli in morning and followed by Homa .After that prasaad was distributed to all. In evening there was aarti followed by Visarjan.

7.
Besides, there were many cultural programmes like poem recitation , classical danse (kathak,odissi) , musical instruments (voilon, guitare, sarangi and tabla, sitar and table) and singing of songs by children and magic each evening .

8.
There were mostly Indians residing in France especially Bengalis but there were also French and peoples of other nations whoever wished to witness culture and spiritualism of India .People from different walks of life like Students resident in House of India, French or other nationality people and Indians residing in France. This is a place where people get to meet each other and also at the same time participate in Durga Puja, participate in culturelle activities, chant mantras and receive blessings of Goddess Durga.

9.
All this is possible with efforts of association Sammilani and many others involved  and under leadership of Cuturelle attaché Mme PritiSanyal and Directeur  Mr Bikas Sanyal that we are able to witness the atmosphere of Indian spirirtuality en France as well .


Thanks for visiting my blog and reading this article .

Have a nice day !!! 

Poem = Merci à l’Alliance Française

Merci à l’Alliance Française

 

Notre premier rendez-vous en France avec les peuples Français,

Etait avec les gens à l’Institute de l’Alliance Française.

 

On a rencontré les étrangères qui appartiennent les pays différents,

On a été enseigné par les professeurs très intelligents. 

 

Ça nous étonne que c’est la place où on a passé, si rapidement, les derniers 3 mois,

On a rencontré la langue et la culture étrangères toutes ensemble  sous un seul toit.

 

C’est l’Institute dont     les       professeurs,

Toujours montre leur compétence et leur chaleur.

 

Grâce aux professeurs on a appris la langue française,

Alors on pourra écrire un poème dédié à l’Alliance Française.

 

Les derniers 3 mois dans notre vie était très enrichissants,

Connaissance offert par patientes et modestes enseignantes.

 

Bravo pour vos efforts et nous vous remercions,

On a amélioré notre personnalité et, on a gagné beaucoup de confiance

 

 

 

 

Ganesh Chaturthi Celebration 2012 at Paris

Sunday 2 september 2012 ,Temple of Ganesh "SRI MANICKA VINAYAKAR ALAYAM" situated at 17, Rue Pajol, 75018  Paris celebrated << Ganesh Chaturthi Festival >>.

This is the first hindu temple in France which was created in1985, this year it became 27 years old .

Lord Ganesha and Lord Muruga are brothers and are sons of  Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati .
There were several processions of chariots carrying decorated Idols of Lords . They were accompanied by people who are considered as Infantry of Lord's Army while Lord Ganesha and Lord Muruga are considered Leaders of that Army .

1. 
First of all came chariot of Lord Ganesha as seen below .According to Hindu Mythology ,before starting any new business or task, we pray to Lord Ganesha so that the task gets accomplished smoothly without any hurdles.

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2.
Next came idol of an Elephant GOD in second chariot pulled by a swami ji . (Lord Ganesha's head was replaced by Elephants head .There is a story behind it . Once upon a time , Lord Shiva had gone for meditatin and prayers on Himalayan mountains and Parvati was alone at home . So before going for bath she made idol of Ganesh with multani that she had used for her body . Thus Lord Ganesh was born and she asked Ganesha to stand at the door and dont allow any strangers inside till she was taking bath .Meanwhile Lord Shiva returned from mountains and tried to enter his house but Lord Ganesha son of Parvati did notallow hi to go inside .So Lord Shiva got angry and cut of his head ignorant that HE is HIS son only .Later when Goddess Parvati came and came to know all this and told Lord Shive HE is OUR son then Lord Shiva brought Lord Ganesh back to Life by searchind and getting head of such child elephant from earth whose mother was sleeping with her back towards her son )

 

 

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3. 

Also there is another idol of Ganesha on this chariot also and there are brahmins all wearing yellow shawl and pulling the chariot of Lord .

 

 

 

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4.
Then came another group of people which danced at one place for 15 minutes or so and then move ahead following the pre-decided route of procession .
It consisted of people singing hymns of Lord Ganesha in tamoul and dancing in accordance with the music and dhol being played .

a .
There are idol of toys like horse etc in form of ballon like this

 

b.
One person desguised as statue of huge girl dancing

c.
Then comes another procession of swamis carring decorative things on their head and  ;

d.
People carrying kalasha (pot filled with water) containing leaves and fruits to be offered to Lord Ganesha

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5.
Shopkeepers decorate with Dhoop Deepam Fruits and coconut in a Kalash in front of their shop where the procession of Lord Ganesha comes .

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6.
Lots of people irrespective of religion and nationality come from throughout Paris to Gare du Nord to see this spectacle  . Just before a procession is about to come ,all the coconuts brought by people are collected and are offered to Lord .

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7.
Next comes procession of prople singing Lord Ganesha hymn and swamis dancing carrying on their shoulders semi chakra made of wood decorated with  flowers and peacock plumes

 

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8.

Next came procession of people accompanying the chariots carrying Panch Mukh Ganesh

 

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9.
Next came chariot carrying Lord Muruga brother of Ganesh and along with Valli and Devyani
 

 

 

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10.
All the shops of the road on which procession takes place are decorated and they aslo sell idols of all the GODs of Hindu Mythology and other symbols like

a.
Idols of  Goddess Radha & Lord Krisha , Lord Rama ,Lakshman and Sita ,Lord Hanuman

 

 

 

b.
Various different forms of Lord Ganesha 

 

 

c.
Idols of Dolls depicting Kerala danse Bharatnatiyam

 

 

d.

Lord Muruga's idol

Thus it was fantastic experience good to witness Indian festival being celebrated with great pomp and show in Paris.

Golu depicting national Integration

GOLU DEPICTING NATIONAL INTEGRATION

It shows Unity in Diversity prevailing in India by showing dolls of different regions of India. All the dolls are handmade doll after stitching on cloth and then stuffing with cotton and finally putting jewelry and painting on the cloth.

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GUJARAT DOLL

Girl from Gujarat State wearing a skirt decorated with famous Kutch Mirror work embroidery.She is carrying basket on her head.

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JAMMU KASHMIR

Kashmiri Girl wearing long silver embroidered top and churidaar at bottom. She wears silver jewellery with huge silver earrings hanging from her ears, which is sign of married woman.

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WEST BENGAL

Lady from West Bengal wearing typical white with red border saree and at the end her pallu will have key chain tied to it. She is going to fetch water

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TAMIL NADU

Iyer lady, from Tamil Nadu, going to Temple wearing a Kanchivaram silk saree.

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MAHARASHTRA

Maharashtrian lady in a saree, pearl jwellery and black beads chain typical of Maharashtra.

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KERALA

Keralite lady wearing a Mundu (2 piece saaree). It is usually white with colored border.Keralite woman wear a lot of Gold jewellery

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BRUM BRUM MAADH

Brum Brum Maadh(in tamil) means the prophecy Making Bull (bull which does bhavishya vaani) The person will walk along the streets and go in front of each house for prophecy and in turn get alms.

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KARNATKA

This is a lady waering a saaree in a typical Coorgi Style . Coorg is hilly part of Karnatka known for scenic beauty and is an attractive tourist spot

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ASSAM

Assamese tribal girl picking Tea Leaves

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SAKUNTLA IN FOREST, WITH HER PET DEER

Shakuntla is carrying pot to fetch water from river in forest with her pet deer. She was the daughter of Menaka and Vishwamitra adopted and later brought up by Kanva Maharishi.She is the heroine of famous Sanskrit play Abhijnana Sakuntla (meaning memento –ring given as memento by Dushyanta to Sakuntla) written by Kalidasa

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LORD KRISHNA AND ARJUNA

Lord Shri Krishna expounding the Bhagvat Gita to Arjuna before the start of Mahabahrata War

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BHARATNATYAM DOLL

Bharatnatyam is classical dance form of Tamil Nadu. This doll depicts one of the pose of Bharatnatyam dance which is supposed to be the pose of shy bride wearing traditional dress and jewellery.

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AANDAL

She was one of the Vaishnavite saints of Tamil Nadu. She was found in Tulsi Vana (forest) by another saint Periazhwar . She was very devoted to Sri Krishna and composed many devotional songs about Krishna.She is especially known for Garland of 30 poems composed for the month of Mriga Shesha (Dec15 to Jan 15).It is supposed to be the dawn of the GODS. In Tamil Nadu during this month every body gets up at 4:00am and go in procession to temple singing these songs. Traditionally this month is devoted to prayers and spirituality and no marriages are performed during this period.

More about Saint Aandal follows in 2 stories, STORY1 of AANDAL and STORY2 of SRI RANGAM.

STORY1-AANDAL

As a young girl, Aandal used to wear Garland of flowers (and praise herself looking at her reflection in well water without her fathers knowledge) strung by her father before he took it to offer to GOD. But one day he saw her and got very angry. He then made another garland to offer to diety in the temple. But when he offered this garland to Lord, it kept falling off from diety and Lord would not accept the garland. That night Lord Vishnu appeared in father’s dream and told him that HE likes to wear garland worn by Aandal. When Aandal grew up , she wanted to marry Lord Vishnu only. GOD appeared in his father’s dream and asked to bring his daughter to Sri Rangam Famous temple in Trichy .

This temple is supposed to be the replica of VaikunthaNath. Here river Kaveri splits into two and then joins again forming an Island where Sri Rangam is situated . (This is similar to River Seine in Paris and where on the island Notre Dame Cathedral is situated) . Kaveri river at this place is considered as River Viraja (the celestial river) which soul has to cross after death to reach Vaikuntha. Rest of the story of Srirangam is continued in STORY2-SRI RANGAM .So as per his dreams father took Aandal to Sri Rangam temple.When she entered shrine, she disappeared and merged with GOD in GarbaGriha .On Jan 15 at the end of month of Mriga Shesha ,marriage of Aandal is celebrated in all temples of South India.

STORY2-SRI RANGAM

Famous place in Trichy in which is situated the famous temple of Sri Ranga Natha .This main image of Sri Ranga Natha is considered to be the Kula Devam of Sri Rama’s family and was originally worshipped in Ayodhya.

During Sri Rama’s Incarnation , Sri Rama gave it to Vibhishana . Vibhishana was carrying it to Sri lanka. On the way near Kaveri river Vibhishana wanted to stop a little bit and he did not want to put the image down on ground . Then a small boy appeared and offered to hold it for him.When Vibhishana returned ,the boy had put the image on the ground and had run away. The Lord Ranga natha told Vibhishana that he should not punish the boy because HE, Lord Ranga Natha himself wanted to stay at this place permanently. So in this temple Lord is lying on SheshaNaag looking southwards towards Srilanka. It is believed that every nght Vibhishana comes to worship him.
Little boy is none other than Vighneshwara who ran to the top of hill near Trichy and can be seen in Temple there called as Utchipillaiyar temple(meaning –at top)
Sri Rangam temple has seven Prakaras (each wall with four Gopurams i.e entrance gateway and such 7 walls surround the diety). Each prakaram is supposed to be each stage that human soul passes until we reach Garba Griha which is abode of Parmatma(all powerful Lord)On the auspicious Baikuntha Ekadasi night people remain awake all night singing bhajans and lords praises and early morning the image of Lord Sri ranga natha is brought out through a special doorway called as ParmaPada Vasal (vasal means doorway) . If people have darshan of this then they are supposed to go straight to ParamPada or Vaikuntha(heaven) .(Nowadays there is direct telecast of this in television at 3:00 am). This custom of bringing out diety early in the morning on Vaikuntha Ekadasy day is followed in all Temples of Tamil Nadu.
　

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SARASWATI PUJA

So most of the people keep lots of idols at their homes and invite guests to their house to see their Golu. On 7^th  day Saraswati puja is done which is done in all the houses in which they worship Goddess Saraswati which has power of showering blessing with which people excel in studies and singing. On this day also people visit their relative’s house. Even people who have not kept Golu, in their house will definitely do Saraswati Puja and invite people in their house on this day. Relatives will come and sing Carnatic song in front of diety and host will offer vaithapaak(sindoor,turmeric,beetle nut in beetle leaves and blouse bit ,coconut or some fruits )to guests and also offer sundal to eat there as prasaadam.

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Famous singer Smt Uma Ramanan visited Aunty’s house where I witnessed Golu and Saraswati Puja.

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Also during this day pooja for all the machinery in house (computer, laptop, washing machine, dish washer, television, sewing machine) and puja of vehicles is also done so called as AYUDHA Pooja.

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AYUDHA PUJA

In offices also , a priest will be called and puja will be done for all machines of offices like computers and vehicles and it is supposed to bring prosperity to the company .In my office CDOT Alcatel Lucent Research Center , Ayudh Puja is done every year.

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Quel est le nom de cette Chose?

Quel est le nom de cette Chose?

Quel est le nom de cette Chose?