Mauritius has a Tamil population of 115,000. Most arrived from Tamil Nadu after 1727 to serve as labourers on the sugar cane plantations. Tamil culture has flourished in Mauritius. Since 1727, the Tamil community has built almost 125 Tamil temples and Murugan is a popular deity. Tamil holidays and festivals such as Tamil New Year, Pongal, Timiti and Thaipusam are celebrated on a national level. Thiruvalluvar and Bharathi days are also celebrated while Deepavali, Thaipusam, Maha Shivaratri and Pongal are public holidays. But most of the people in Mauritius do not speak Tamil.