From the first yatra of 1898 to the centenary of the sabha — the story of Ganga Talao and Hindu Maha Sabha Mauritius.
In 1898, devotees organised the first known yatra to the crater lake then called Grand Bassin — a walk of faith through the island’s hills toward a still water they held sacred.
That journey grew into Maha Shivratri, today one of the largest Hindu pilgrimages outside India. Each year, kanwar carriers and families take the road to the lake; priests keep the night of Shiva with continuous abhishek and mantra.
Hindu Maha Sabha Mauritius, founded in 1925, became a principal steward of this heritage — petitioning for the festival as a public holiday in the early 1930s, then securing land, roads and shelters so pilgrims could gather in dignity.
In the mid-twentieth century, under leaders such as Beekrumsing Ramlallah, the sabha worked with government to lease Crown land around the lake, open roads from the plateau, and build halls and temples for pilgrims.
In 1966 the first Shiva temple on the leased shore was inaugurated — a gift remembered with Shrimati R.K. Boodhun. In 1972, sacred water from the Ganges was mixed into the crater lake. From that act the place took the name Ganga Talao — the lake of the Ganga — binding Mauritius to the pilgrimage geography of India.
The principal mandir is honoured today as Sri Kashi Vishwanath Shakti Peeth: daily Rudrabhishek, festivals of the sacred year, and the great night of Maha Shivratri.
In the early 2000s, community initiative raised Mangal Mahadev — a 108-foot murti of Lord Shiva at the entrance path, a replica of the Sursagar Shiva of Vadodara. Consecration followed in the Maha Shivratri season of 2008.
Facing him across the sacred site stands the Durga Mata murti of equal height, consecrated over Navratri in 2017 — among the tallest images of the Goddess in the world. Together they frame the approach to the lake for every pilgrim who arrives.
Along the shore, shrines to Ganga, Hanuman, Ganesh, Lakshmi and companion deities complete the precinct — so that the walk around the water holds the full presence of the tradition.
Gateway, lake and pilgrimage — images that mark the living heritage of Grand Bassin.
Fuller founding notes, presidents list and decade milestones: HMSAI · About & Information.
