Port-of-Spain, Aug 28 (Inditop.com) Thousands of Hindus thronged temples across Trinidad and Tobago to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi with devotees observing fast and chanting Vedic hymns.
Earthen idols are prepared and devotees here pay obeisance to Lord Ganesha. After Ganesh Chaturthi ends, the idols are immersed in the river or the sea.
Ganesh Utsav, which began Aug 23 and ends Sep 3, is also being observed by the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS).
Pundit Doodnath Rampersad, spiritual leader of the Vishwanath Hindu Social and Cultural Organisation, said that his temple “observes Ganesh Ustav as an annual ritual and as one passes by, plans are put in place for the incoming one”.
Hundreds of devotees join the parade from Sangre Chiquito, Sangre Grande to the Valencia river where the Ganesh idol is immersed.
Late Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyswami, in his book “Dancing with Siva” said that Lord Ganesh is the deity who helps souls out of the abysmal pit and adjusts them to higher consciousness after due penance has been made, guiding them on the right path towards dharmic destiny.
People of Indian origin constitute nearly 40 percent of the 1.3 million population of Trinidad and Tobago. Their ancestors came here from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar between 1845 and 1917 to work on sugar plantations.
