Indians, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans... in France; there may be more than 100 thousand of them, the majority in Paris. Their activities are mostly to be found in the 10th arrondissement: one often refers to "Little India". There is a small concentration of restaurants, barbershops and Bollywood DVD sellers at Passage Brady, which I already posted about, obviously dominated by Pakistanis. Further north, especially along Rue due Faubourg St. Denis, you will find an even higher number of establishments, obviously more dominated by Indians and Sri Lankans. This is also the area where you can find what seems to be the only Hindu Temple in France, the "Temple Ganesha", or "Sri Manika Vinayakar Alayam". You can find it 72, rue Philippe de Girard.Hinduism is of course the dominating Indian religion, followed by Islam. Ganesha (or Ganesh, Ganapati, Vinayaka, Pillayar) is one of the major Hindu Gods, the Elephant God, revered as the Remover of Obstacles, patron of art and sciences and the "Deva" (the Sanskrit word for a god or deity) of intellect and wisdom.
The Paris temple is very modest, occupying what obviously previously was a restaurant kitchen, created on the personal initiative by a Mr. Sanderasekaram in 1985. You are welcome to visit (if you take off your shoes). You may even kindly be offered some vegetarian food!
Nothing to do with the above, but I wanted today also to give you another proof that the spring is here. 
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69 comments:
Can't remember when it is, but make sure you go to the Indian festival in this area when it is on. The temple will be able to tell you when, A great event.
Bonjour Peter! il nous fallait ton blog pour découvrir Paris «autrement»! Mieux que le guide... ;)
Magnifique réportage des Halles...
Ah, et il ne fut pas manquer le Renoir, à la fournaise...
Tout ça avec du soleil: il faut que on y va, à Paris... ;))
Bonne semaine!
Gil
ne faut pas...
Always wonderful!
:-)
Léia
Did you accept the offer of food? Was it good. We have some good Indian restaurants in our area but I haven't been in a long time.
Another informative post as usual. Merci, Peter.
How interesting. I would have expected a much larger representation. Even St. Louis has a rather grand Hindu temple.
It was a real pleasure to meet you, Olivier and Lucie last week. Our long, pleasurable lunch was an American's dream of the joys of France. We will see one another again.
I was so near to this Temple during my last visit. Great post :D
Interesting post, another side of Paris.
Interesting and surprising post. Here in Switzerland there has been some fuss about the building (or not) of mosques (mainly the minarets). It seems that Hinduism doesn't favour the large scale ostentation of other faiths like the Christian and Muslim ones - at least not in Paris! I have no idea what the situation is in India and other countries. I'd be interested to know.
Les grands esprits se rencontrent!!!
J'avais envie d'aller visiter ce quartier en prévision de mon voyage en Inde, merci pour le plan de situation.
bravo au Sherlock Holmes de Paris, il fallait le trouver ce temple hindou. superbe découverte.
This is very interesting! I'm happy to see a part of India in France! Thanks for showcasing this!
Thanks also for your message on my holiday post! I had a wonderful time back home! Will be posting some pictures in the coming days!
Mais y a t-il des cols verts sur le Gange? La question reste posée...
J'admire ta facilité à t'introduire dans ces lieux mystérieux.
As tu fait les photos à la dérobée ? Ou acceptent ils avec bienveillance qu'on photographie ?
C'est à la fois très beau, coloré et très insolite. Carrelages blancs d'origine, amusant.
J'apprends que Lyliane doit aller en Inde. elle va vraiment partout, celle-là. Comme toi!
Adorables les petits colverts!
During our last visit to Paris we had a hotel near that quarter and I wondered about the many Indian shops there.
And yes, nature has almost exploded. Everything grows very fast now.
J'irais bien avec Lyliane ! Mais je vais aller en Guyane, on ne peut tout faire.
A Paris on n'a pas de vache sacrée mais on a de sacrées bandes de canards.
(Et du canard laqué dans le treizième)
:) I see them all over the world.
I wonder if you liked that vegetarian Indian food!
The spring proof is fabulous!
Je ne connais pas trop Little India , par contre le passage Brady, j'y allais quand j'etais adolescent. Il y avait le cinéma de mon pote JP Mocky "Le Brady", on y passait, à l'époque, des films d'horreur ou de Science fiction de serie B voir C. Je ne sais pas si ce ciné existe encore...
J'ai rencontré Jilly, hier. Elle m'a appris qu'il y aurait un rassemblement de blogueurs à Menton.
Surtout, ne pense même pas aux taxis, même pour plaisanter. Tout est à parcourir à pied pour le plaisir des yeux.
Most interesting about the 100 thousand Indians in Paris. I also liked the photos about them and the ducks are nice.
This time is really it, what shows differencies of our locations and especially this spring, when frost and snow is still every day.
I said earlier, that I am not whining, but when I see those summer like feelings in your photos, I could do a little bit whining because of our too long winter.
And now I hope, that it will not be too hot in China, it is difficult to me. Am I a difficult person ??
Forget those words, because now I am going to sing to you:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR PETER, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU !!(It is tomorrow or am I wrong?)
La réalité hindoue à Paris! Intéressant.
Le temple "canard" est pas mal fréquenté non plus!
P.S. Je n'ai pas repéré de fil électrique mais un extincteur... lol
Ils ont des noms à rallonge dans ces pays là, tu as remarqué? "Sanderasekaram", c'est vraiment pas facile à prononcer. :-))
Et les canards, ils prient quel dieu? tu sais?
Que nous soyons heureux comme ces canards!
Je vois que les familles Col-vert se sont serieusement agrandies!!!
Evidemment en France il y a les allocations Familles nombreuses!!!!
Hello again Peter, thank you for your visit to my blog. Yes, I have been very frustrated with no internet computer access, and have been pulling my hair out... well, not all of it! You will be pleased to know I am not quite bald yet!
You will be very welcome to have a DVD of the Variety Show, I would love to send you one!
Meanwhile, I am very interested in your post about the Hindu temple in Paris. There are many temples and mosques here in Southern Ontario.... I should really take some pictures as many of them are extremely detailed and elaborate, and quite beautiful. There are many emigrants from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka living in this area, and a lot of wonderful restaurants to choose from. I love spicy food!
Another place I look forward to visiting on my next trip to Paris.
good timing.
i can use a bit of faith right now as businesses are from bad to worse ... haha
very exhausted from long meetings and the ducks help :-)
I had heard there are lots of Indians in France. A lovely temple. Glad spring is coming your way!
Well, i have my cousin in Paris and a friend in Rouen, but not the temple going type. France has been too tolerant of the miniroties and sometimes they take advantage of such tolerance. Some refuse to join the main stream in an attempt to protect their identity. That is an unhealthy attitude of the minorities and i don't support it Peter.
Happy Birthday, Peter! Hope it's a good one and don't eat too much birthday cake. I will toast you here in Florida with a glass of French wine.
It is Tuesday here in Singapore Peter - Happy Birthday :D
Chocolate or Strawberry Cake?? Maybe Cheese? :D
It's exactly the same there! I had believed that Hindu temples in other countries must be looking a bit different.
Forehead Stamp
Leena parle de ton anniversaire? Le tien? Celui de ton blog? Je veux tout savoir!
J O Y E U X A N N I V E R S A I R E................et CHAMPAGNE.....
These are very exotic photos - love them ! And the ducks too of course ;-)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Peter !
Un message pour toi ici comme si c'était chanté par moi!
Des restos et un temple hindous à Paris, Why not !
Le printemps a bien fait son oeuvre chez les carnards. Les canetons sont trop mignons.
Il va falloir qu'on se fasse une petite mousse... Dorée et fraîche comme l'eau du caneton du dessus à droite, tiens !
Heureux anniversaire Peter !
Gros bisous ! Gros bisous !
A very happy birthday, to you, Peter. I hope the weather is as fine as here and that you will have a wonderful day.
As a deeply religious Hindu, I am thrilled to see this post. Made my day, Peter!!
Thank you so much for sharing!
Wow, this is something I didn't see when I visited Paris. Really interesting.
Je vois qu'aujourd'hui tu n'as pas le temps d'aller sur mon blog, aussi je te souhaite un bon anniversaire sur le tien, car je n'ai pas oublié. grosses bises.
Maintenant que je sais tout (merci Lyliane!), il me reste à te faire autant de bises que d'années! Mais tu dois me dire ce que tu auras eu comme cadeaux!
At first with all the bright colors and the tiles I thought it was a patisserie...
Always pastry on the brain :)
Fun post though...who would have thought?
Your art-photo-work is great, Peter.
You have a special gift of good observer.
Wishing you a Very Happy Birthday!
Cheers!
Nice to see an indian temple in Paris.
Happy birthday, again! :-)
Mo:
Thanks for the idea! It takes place early September around this little temple. I will go this year!
GMG:
Je vous attends avec impatience, tous les deux!
Léia:
Thanks for your always kind comments!
Karen:
I took just a banana. :-)
Bob:
The pleasure was for us! Waiting for you for another anniversary!
Shionge:
Near, but not quite... ! :-)
SusuPetal:
There a re many (more or less hidden) sides of a big city!
Richard:
I guess you are right about the large scale ostentation!
Lyliane:
Tu pars quand pour l'Inde?
Olivier:
C'est vrais qu'il n'est pas très visible de la rue ... et la rue est aussi un peu cachée! :-)
Rakesh:
Nice to have an "Indian" comment!
Alice:
... et sans réponse! :-)
Catherine:
Aucun problème ici! On est bien reçu! :-)
hpy:
Je l'apprends aussi! :-)
April:
Yes, there is quite a concentration! :-)
Cergie:
J'apprend aussi pour la Guyane!
Mona:
As I said above, I took only a banana. Didn't want to abuse of the hospitality! :-)
Eddy:
Je crois que le cinéma est toujours là, mais on est on train de le retaper!
Catherine (bis):
Bien sur qu'on va marcher! :-)
Abe:
Thanks Abe! :-)
Leena:
You sing so remarkebly well! Nice trip to China! I would like to return! :-)
Thérèse:
Le lieu n'est pas très sophistiqué, part de son charme! :-)
Delphinium:
... non plus pour taper! :-)
Zhang:
Tu as raison! :-)
Marie-Noyale:
C'est vrai que ça participe à la volonté de se multiplier! :-)
Shammickite:
I woulo not even dream of counting the Indian restaurants in Paris, not only in this area! :-)
Cheryl:
So, when is it? :-)
Azer:
Faith in something helps! :-)
Neva:
Yes... and thanks! :-)
Rauf:
This is a difficult subject and not really easy to give the "right" answer! :-)
Karen:
Thanks a lot! Hope the wine was good! :-)
Shionge:
Lunch with friends, dinner with (part of) the family! ... and champagne of course! :-)
Bhavesh:
I must compare with the real Indian ones, one day! :-)
Alice:
Maintenant je peux avouer; le mien! :-)
Olivier:
Merci beaucoup, y compris le Facebook message! :-)
Bettina:
Thanks a lot, including the Facebook message! :-)
hpy:
Ca chante vraiment bien! :-))
Claude:
Why not? Plutot normal! :-)
Lucie:
Champagne, champagne...! Gros bisous également! :-)
April:
The weather is perfect at the moment! :-)
Ash:
I'm happy to see that you apprciate! :-)
Cutie:
This is of course not number one of the places to visit! Next time! :-)
Lyliane:
Maintenant j'ai vu ton blog! Tu es toujours presque trop gentille! :-) Merci beacoup!!
Alice:
Malgré les 66 bises (un grand merci), je ne dis pas! :-)
ParisBreakfasts:
Thanks, dear pastry loving friend!
Krystyna:
Double thanks dear friend! :-)
JM:
Double thanks also to you... I saw the Facebook message! :-)
Oh, Happy Birthday late, Peter! We are celebrating you around the world.
Ruth:
Thanks! Yes, this is my most interenational birthday until now! :-)
I know I am late here to comment, I had read the post thru my reader and have told you my reason for being late.
First things first... Happy birthday Peter, though belated by one day.
I haven't been to this temple in Paris but next time will try to visit just for the sake of visiting. :)
Thanks for the Info. I am visiting Paris and I was wondering if there was a temple in Paris. Your blog is right on top in Google. ("Indian temples in Paris" keyword search) Even their official websire may not be there. I will check this place in weekend.
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