Nilesh’s Posterous

Maha Shivaratri is one of the most auspicious Hindu Festivals in Mauritius. Lord Shiva is the main god in most temples in Mauritius and ShivaRatri literally means (the night of Shiva). There is a Shivaratri every month, but Maha Shivaratri is the most auspicious one literally translate to 'The Great Night of Shiva'. On the night of Maha Shivaratri
of Maha Shivaratri, there's all night long prayers and water from the Ganges is poured in the Shiva Lingums. In Mauritius, we have a sacred lake caled Grand Bassin, which is supposed to have been filled by the first Indian immigrants with holy water from the Ganges. So, for Maha Shivaratri, we all usually go on a walking pilgrimage to Grand Bassin to collect the sacred water from the lake for the prayers on the night of Maha Shivaratri.

Here's an article that talks more about how we celebrate Maha Shivaratri in Mauritius.

http://pages.intnet.mu/fullspot/Events/Mahashiv.htm

I've attached some pictures of the Giant Shiva Statue we have in Mauritius. The status is 108 feet tall (sacred number in Hinduism) and is always almost covered in fog during the Maha Shivaratree festival. The first picture is actually how it looks like in fog, I've just added some blue light to accentuate the profile and shadows.

BTW.. on this pious occasion of Maha Shivatree, I decided to make a hindu prayer iphone application. It's still in the proess of app store aproval, but check it out at http://ipuja.weboot.com/ for an early preview.

       

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Yesterday was Thaipusam Cavadee in Mauritius. I was there last year while the festival happens. I thought I'd post some pictures I took there last year.

It is a very auspicious religious festival celebrated in Mauritius and other parts of the world as well, by mostly the Tamil community, but lately, more and more people of different faith and religions in Mauritius, as it brings salvation to many. The festival celebrates the birthday of Lord Muruga (son of Shiva) the Tamil God of War.

Devotees and pilgrims for the procession, have to fast for weeks in advance to cleanse their bodies and mind and also pray a lot before the actual day of cavadee. On the day of cavadee, they have body piercings and carry altars made specially for that occasion to temples and rivers. I've copied an extract of what Wikipedia says about the piercings.

"The simplest kavadi is a semi circular decorated canopy supported by a wooden rod that is carried on the shoulders, to the temple. In addition, some have a small spear through their tongue, or a spear through the cheeks. The spear pierced through his tongue or cheeks reminds him constantly of Lord Murugan. It also prevents him from speaking and gives great power of endurance. Other types of kavadi involve hooks stuck into the back and either pulled by another walking behind or being hung from a decorated bullock cart or more recently a tractor, with the point of incisions of the hooks varying the level of pain. The greater the pain the more god-earned merit."

             

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Every year before Christmas, all the santas come to San Francisco to party up before the big day. Today was the San Francisco Santa Con. Tons of Santas invaded all bars in San Francisco and were spreading the holiday cheers...

http://santacon.info/
http://sanfranciscosantarchy.wordpress.com/

               

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"Don't just cry mournfully over the individuals, dreams and influences that have helped make you what you are. Dance for them; sing for them; honor them; leap into the air and kiss the sky for them."

"Dia de los Muertos is a traditional Meso-American holiday dedicated to the ancestors; it honors both death and the cycle of life. In Mexico, neighbors gather in local cemeteries to share food, music, and fun with their extended community, both living and departed. The celebration acknowledges that we still have a relationship with our ancestors and loved ones that have passed away.

In San Francisco, Day of the Dead has been celebrated since the early 70s with art, music, performances and a walking procession, which help us contemplate our existence and mortality -- a moment to remember deceased friends and family, and our connections beyond our immediate concerns."

excerpts from http://www.dayofthedeadsf.org/

I had missed this event for the past two years and finally manage to go this year and it was awesome. Here are some pics from it.

             

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First time I did dandiya today. It's not hard snd easy to learn. Had
lots of fun doing dandiya dance. Happy divali all !!

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Fire performances Video

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Last week I went to the burning man decompression party. It was held in the portrero district and it was the awesomest street party i've been to in SF.  It was like a mini burning man exept there was no playa dust and we had to actually buy our drinks and food vs getting everything for free at the real burning man. Here are some pics from it.

                     

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Does anyone know what the moon festival celebrate?

Sent from my iPhone

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Every month, the city of San Francisco organizes Sunday Streets (http://sundaystreetssf.com/)  in one neighborhood, where they close off the streets and people can just enjoy walking, biking on the streets in 'safer' environment (intro from website :: Sunday Streets creates a safe, fun, car-free place for people to get out and get active in San Francisco neighborhoods.) They also have many activities planned on the streets by different group, free bike rentals, roller skates rentals etc.. pretty fun. This week they had it in the mission district (http://sundaystreetssf.com/?page_id=474). It was awesome. Enjoyed it a lot and disovered many new places in the mission, in places i rarely ventured. After SF streets, we went to Dolores park to a huge crowd, where the SF symphony orchestra was playing for free. Annie had planned a potluck picnic where it was great to meet up and spend the sunday afternoon in great company and great food !

                     

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Sent from my iPhone

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