Hindu Temples and Grand Bassin

 Hindus represent over 50% of the population in Mauritius. Most Indians have been here for generations, descendants of the the indentured laborers who immigrated here in the mid-19th century to work the sugar plantations. There are large Hindu temples in most every town and small temples along the roadside and in front of people's homes. There are several here in Port Louis. In fact, one right next to the Immigration Square Bus Terminal. They are colorful, busy, intricate … almost to the point of garishness, but I find them fascinating.

hindu temples in port louis

I'd read about Grand Bassin in the south central part of the country. It's a natural lake high in the hills of Mauritius and it's sacred to the Hindus. Legend has it that the waters of the Ganges River in India flow under the ocean to Grand Bassin, known to the Hindus as Ganga Talao. We took an early morning bus to La Flora, then changed to a bus to Bois Cheri and then caught a collective taxi (shared rides) to the temple. It was quite cool after the heat of the city and it rained off and on during our visit. Figuring out where to go isn't a mystery. You ask and someone points the way. We follow directions well. We knew we had arrived when we saw a huge statue of Shiva, the supreme being in the Hindu religion.

big shiva

There are temples all around the lake and we just followed the path to visit them. There are few restrictions for visitors. Remove shoes before entering a temple. No consumption of alcoholic beverages in the area. Be respectful of the temple and those praying. Otherwise, we were free to wander, observe and learn a bit. The first temple was absolutely beautiful. Perched high on a hill overlooking the lake, there was an archway which led down a steep flight of stairs to the water where the actual temple was located.

archway to the lake

We walked along the lake's edge keeping a respectful distance from those worshiping. We caught the scent of incense burning and we could hear a mantra, chanted over and over. The lake was calm and still and the place was peaceful and serene.

lake temple

There are small altars all along the edge of the lake. Several had offerings called prasada on them. Placed on a banana leaf, the offerings we saw consisted of fruits, coconut, flowers and sweets.

altars and offerings

Once left unattended, the local birds and monkeys evidently finish up what the gods didn't eat.

bulbul eating offering

We walked along the lake and came to what we determined was the main temple. There were large statues of Hindu deities, many with offerings at their feet, scattered along the lake's edge.

statues

We have a special affection for Ganesh. With his elephant head and pot belly, he is revered as an obstacle remover. He's considered a patron of the arts and is known for his wisdom and intellect. He's an all-around nice kind of guy, for a god, that is.

ganesh

At the entrance to the temple, we removed our shoes and walked inside. A ceremony was being conducted in the inner temple. We wandered past several displays of different deities, trying to keep them straight. We couldn't, of course. There are purported to be some 33 million different deities in Hindu religion, which, by the way, is claimed to be the oldest religion in the world.

shrines inside temple

A Hindu pandit (priest) approached us and asked if we would like a blessing. David deferred, but I needed all the blessing I could get. He applied a “tilak”, a red Hindu religious symbol on my forehead, then placed his hands on my head and blessed me and my family, asking for peace, safety, harmony and prosperity. I took this blessing as a positive sign for our upcoming passage. We are not religious, but I'm interested in the way different people practice their religion.

being blessed

There were no cabs around when it was time to leave, but having enjoyed our visit to the temple, we felt more inclined to walk back to town anyway, about 5km away. Interestingly, there are about 90 different religions practiced freely in the tiny country of Mauritius. The mix is something like 52% Hindu, 30% Christian, 16% Muslim and 2% Chinese religions. There seems to be no conflict at all on religious grounds, but rather a harmonious acceptance of the differences in beliefs. Wish we could accomplish this in other parts of the world.

Off to the Races...Champ de Mars

The Champ de Mars Race Course in Port Louis (not Paris) offers thoroughbred horse racing every Saturday from March till December. It's the oldest race track in the Southern Hemisphere and the second oldest in the world according to all I've read. It celebrated its 200th birthday in 2012.  

So instead of doing boat work on a sunny Saturday afternoon, we opted to take a long walk over to the race course. It's a fair walk, but it was also market day in town, so we left around 10am and wandered through the marketplace. We thought it was crowded the other day when we went. Today was sheer bedlam. Elbows everywhere ... people packed tightly trying to get from A to B and maybe buy a tomato along the way. We passed on purchases, but enjoyed watching and taking photos.

We arrived at the race track around Noon and thought we were early, but it was crowded already. We giggled a bit when we read the sign “No Parking on the Track” as we entered.

We bought our tickets: David 175Rps (~$6). Only men pay. Women enter for free. When we passed through the gates, we were amazed at the open-aired interior … behind the stands. It was like an oasis. Huge ficus trees shaded the area and beyond all the betting booths, there were all sorts of small restaurants, places to sit and eat and drink. The crowd milled around. It seemed a festive occasion.

The horse-racing was great and quite a different excursion for the day. We were invited by the racetrack staff to share a Visitor's Box, so we were quite comfy … out of the sun, with great views from the third level. An attentive Indian fellow, dressed in a business suit, checked in on us frequently and asked if we'd like a tour of the paddock area. Well, sure. Why not? We met the GM of the racetrack along the way and had a nice chat. We had no inkling why we were afforded such amenities and special treatment. We don't look rich, however we had taken showers earlier. We didn't question it ... just went with the flow and smiled.

We didn't do any betting, but we did buy a program and did virtual betting on each race and kept track of our wins and losses. It's good thing we didn't do any betting.

The races were fun to watch. Depending on the length of each race, the starting gate was placed in a different location. The races were pretty exciting. No problem if we couldn't see every aspect of the race from our vantage point, we had a large flat screen TV in our box to consult if needed. Mostly, however, we preferred standing up, craning our necks and screaming for our virtual bet to win ...or place or show.

We left after the sixth race. As we reached the exit, a gate closed just in front of us. We watched men spreading grass on the track. Now we understood the reason for the sign we'd seen previously. We were actually crossing the live track to exit and they closed it just before each race. I climbed up on a short wall right at the gate. We heard the bugle sounding the start of the race and could feel the thunder of hoofs before we actually saw the horses. And then, there they were … right in front of me … and my camera. Awesome.

Didn't win any money ... didn't lose any either. Thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I'd call that a good day.

Le Weekend - Port Mathurin, Ile Rodrigues

Le Weekend … after the market and all the shops closed down on Saturday, Port Mathurin eased into the weekend. By 3pm, there was little traffic on the streets and not all that many people. The sidewalks (or lack thereof) were rolled up tight. We were content to stay aboard with our newly acquired freshies and while away the rest of the day with naps, chores and a nice dinner. Sunday morning and we could hear the church bells ringing. Rodrigues has many religious sects, but the most prominent is Catholic. The church is right in the middle of town and the faint strain of singing voices wafted out to the anchorage.

No shops were open. No restaurants. The bakery opened at 0430 (but, of course … people need their daily bread!), but closed right after the church services. There were a few people out and about, but not many. That is, until about 3pm when “Le Nightclub” opened. We had read about the “nightclub” from previous cruisers and thought we'd check it out. The name is a misnomer in that it opens from about 3pm on Sunday afternoons and closes about 8pm. It's more of an afternoon club … a social club for Sunday afternoon get-togethers, a few beers and lots of loud music and dancing.

We showed up at the entry door around 3pm and were immediately turned away. David, and our friend James on Banshee, were in shorts. Long trousers were required along with proper shoes … no flip-flops.

There was discussion as to whether the men wanted to change. I convinced them that they did, so we walked back to the dock, David dinghied back to the boat to change while I chatted with some other departing cruisers. Properly attired, we walked back to Les Cocotiers, paid our cover charge (125Rps for men; only 75Rps for women), and found a table. The Phoenix beer was cold; the music was loud; the place was dark and stale.

The locals were dancing up a storm. We sat and watched and enjoyed. I love dancing and was anxious to get out on the floor and strut my stuff, but I wanted to get a feel for the music and dancing first. A DJ kept the momentum going. A huge multi-faceted, mirrored disco ball hung limp, evidently having lost its spin sometime in the past. The music ranged between 1950-60s pop and country. We heard “Please Release Me” several times and “Sad Movies Always Make Me Cry” at least twice. No original artists were recognized, but the tunes were familiar.

All dancing seemed be a simple country two-step to a calypso-type beat ... with a twirl thrown in every once in awhile by the more energetic dancers. Not my kind of music, but it was enjoyable to people watch and check out the dynamics of the local folks. Women outnumbered men and danced unabashedly with each other when no male partners were available. Women were decked out in their Sunday finest. Some wore high heels. All wore lipstick. When a new tune started, the men stood up, checked out the potential field and pointed at a woman, gave her the “come on and dance” high sign and that was it. Not much formality involved. I passed on my opportunity, preferring to watch rather than participate.

After a couple of hours, the music changed to an accordion-based, polka-style of music … still with that pronounced calypso beat. Hard to explain. A younger crowd started walking in and the older crowd dissipated … as did we. Enough nightclubbing for one Sunday afternoon.