Ganesh festival was celebrated at the famous Shiv temple, built by Maa Sheekuang Send, in Bangkok, Thailand, on September 16. Swami Vijnanananda, joint secretary general of VHP (World Coordination), participated in the function. Geographically, Thailand may be away from India but culturally and religiously it appears to be the part of Indian culture. People of the country, who are mostly Buddhist, worship Lord Ganesh with great devotion. Thai-Vedic scholar Swami Buddhacharan, Maa Sheekuang Send, Shri Manohar Diwan of Vishwa Buddhist Pratishthan, Shri Umesh Mishra, Pracharak of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh in Thailand and Shri Chintamani Tripathi, president of VHP, Thailand, were also present on the occasion.
The celebration began with chanting the Vedic hymns by Pandit Vijaynarayan Pandey and Pandit Brahmanand Dube. Later, chanting of Vedic hymns by Swami Buddhacharan moved everyone. Swami Vijnanananda spoke about Lord Ganesha and said the festival is a good example of Hindu-Buddhist unity. He stressed the need to observe it every year. Maa Sheekuang Send explained the eternal Hindu culture and said the temple is the legacy of cultural unity of Thai-Hindu society. The prayer of Lord Ganesha by Shri Rajesh Laddha thrilled the devotees. After the prayer, a grand procession of Lord Ganesha began. After covering a distance of 12 km, it reached the banks of the Chavfaiya river where the idol of Lord Ganesha was properly immersed by the devotees.
