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VAISHNAVA FESTIVALS
Garudotsavam at Kancheepuram Varadarajaswami temple
is a grand sight. Generations of devotees have made it a point not to miss even
a single Garudotsavam. On Vaikasi Visakam day, which is
the birthday of Nammalwar, the lord visits the Nammalwar shrine and bless him.
In the month of
Ani, the full moon is in the Jyesta constellation-Kettai in Tamil. On this day, Jyesta Abishekam in
srirangam, flot festival in Mannargudi and padi Utsavam or festival
of steps at the Alagar Temple near Madurai are celebrated.
Padinettam Perukku or flood of the eighteenth is a
festival which occurs on the18th of the Tamil month, Adi and is
celebrated by people living in the Cauvery delta. The Cauvery will be in full floods on that day,
over flowing its banks
and submerging all the flights of steps at the innumerable
bathing Ghats all along the course of the river, in the
districts of Tiruchirappalli and Thanjavur. This is a festival peculiar
to the Cauvery in Tamil Nadu.
Even two or three days ahead of this festival Chapparams
are exhibited for sale all along the approaches to the river. Chapparams
are miniature temple chariots on tiny
wooden wheels with tapering towers artistically
decorated with glittering paper and cut flowers with a niche
in the centre, where pictures of gods and goddess can
be mounted. From early morning on Padinettam Perukku
day, the children would drag these tiny chariots along the metalled
streets. In the evening the children put lighted candles in the niches of
the chapparams and drag them again along the streets.
Worship
takes on many forms, according to the customs prevalent among the different
communities that constitute the Hindu fold. People of some communities make
images out of mud, offer it kumkum, saffron, sandal paste,
incense and gur-mixed rice and coconut called Kappirisi. It is the custom on
tgis occasion to wear a saffron dyed thread ,married couples tying it to each
other. Bangles, black beads etc. are thrown as offerings to the river Goddess
and after chewing betal leaves, women and children return
home. Some married couples deposit into the river, the
garlands they had worn during their marriage.
After morning bath in the
Cauvery, the Brahmins offer
her flowers and milk and to mark the occasion, they prepare and
partake of sweet payasamm in their homes. In the evening women
and children go out to the river-front with prepared Chitrannam
variegated rice food and after offering some to their river goddess, eating the prepared food and return home. The Padinettam Perukku is essentially a women's and children's festival .
It is customary, on this auspicious day to
throw, bundle of old cadjan
leaf manuscripts which are worn out into the river,
instead of offering them to the fire. Gods and goddess are taken from the
temple around noon to the mantapas on the Cauvery banks during this
festival.
AVANI MOOLAM
The
Avani Moolam festival celebrated in Madurai on the Moolam constellation day in the month of
Avani, depicts of the
legendary sports of Lord Shiva at Madurai. It is a picturesque festival with distinctive
local colour, the eating of pittu, is a part of the day's engagement for
the devotees.
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