The annual Chithirai festival of Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple began here with the flag hoisting ceremony on Tuesday. The temple flag was hoisted at 11.48 a.m. after special pujas. The presiding deities of the temple, Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswarar, were brought in palanquins with Goddess Piriyavidai.
Karumuttu T. Kannan, ‘Thakkar’ (Fit Person) of the temple, and N. Natarajan, Executive Officer, were present on the occasion.
Mr. Kannan said additional prasadam and donation counters had been set up for the benefit of devotees during the festival. “Nine more counters have been added inside the temple and two counters will function at Setupati Higher Secondary School where the wedding feast is served for devotees,” he said.
“Floral arrangements for the whole festival this year will be made at a cost of Rs. 10 lakh and the Tirukkalyanam will be telecast live on 10 LED screens in Masi streets around the temple,” Mr. Kannan added.
To strengthen security arrangements in the temple, 16 watchtowers would be set up for the duration of the festival along the Masi streets. “Two sheds covering an area of 20,000 square feet each have been set up in the east and south Chithirai streets to protect devotees from heat,” said Mr. Natarajan.
The two temple cars are being prepared for the car festival, which falls on May 1. “Special tile coating is used on the wooden temple cars to protect the intricate carvings from water seepage,” temple officials said.
As many as 12,000 people would witness the Tirukkalyanam live on April 30 at Tiruppugazh Mandapam at the junction of North-West Adi Streets. The venue would have a 250-tonne air-conditioner. In addition to the 6,000 persons who would watch the event free of cost, 1,500 tickets of Rs. 500 denomination and 4,000 tickets of Rs. 200 denomination would be sold to the devotees. The sale of tickets began at the designated counters on Tuesday. Arrangements were also made for foreign tourists to witness the celestial wedding from Tiruvalluvar Kazhagam in North Adi Street, said Mr. Natarajan.
