The sea of people did not seem to faze most of the children who were waiting to accompany the ‘Rishaba vahanam’ procession of Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswarar near the temple on Sunday evening.
It is the practice every year for young girls and boys, who are decked up in grand traditional clothes and costumes, to accompany the evening procession of deities around the four Masi streets which starts from the temple on all days of the Chithirai festival.
While many young girls accompanied the procession wearing silk ‘pavadais’ and performed ‘kolattam’, many children came dressed up as Goddess Meenakshi, Lord Murugan, Karuppansamy and other deities.
J. Rakshitha, a sixth standard student, said that she loved to dance and that she had made many friends during the festival over the years. “She has been coming here from age three. While a lot of girls come and make friends, there are also girls who come in large groups from dance schools or from the same neighbourhood,” said R. Chitra Devi, her grandmother.
While waiting for the procession to begin, many girls began to perform kolattam in small groups and later, went along with the procession on Sunday.
V. Shanmugapriya, whose children had participated in the procession dressed up as Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Murugan, said that they had observed children having dressed up and accompanying the procession during their last visit to the temple.
“They too wanted to do the same. They love getting noticed in their costumes and don’t mind the crowds,” she said.
Many of the parents who had accompanied the children said that even though the crowds had increased this year, their spirits were not deterred and that the children continued to eagerly participate, as it was their summer vacation as well.
“I come to my grandmother’s house every year during my summer holidays and participate in the festival,” said S. Manikandan, a resident of Chennai, who was wearing the ‘Karuppansamy’ costume.
