A festive atmosphere prevailed at most temples in the city as Sri Rama Kalyanam was performed with religious fervour and gaiety on the occasion of Sri Ramanavami on Friday.
The idols of the deities were tastefully decorated with flowers and pandals (tents) were erected outside the temples and ‘kalyanam’ performed to the ‘utsava murthies’ of Lord Rama and goddess Sita, to enable a large number of devotees to witness the celestial wedding. The ‘kalyanam’ was also performed at parks and open spaces by various organisations.
At Sri Shirdi Sai temple at Pithapuram Colony, the kalyanam was performed by a large number of devotees, including retired District Medical and Health Officer Puppala Venkateswara Prasad and his wife Sarojini Prasad.
Food was served to hundreds of devotees and the needy.
At Sri Shirdi Saibaba temple in Shantipuram, Sri Ramanavami was celebrated with devotion. Boddapati Purushothama Rao and his wife Radha performed the kalyanam. Priest Venugopala Sarma and temple trustee Muvvala Tata Rao were present.
At Brindavan Park in TPT Colony, Sri Ramanavami was celebrated and the kalyanam of the Lord performed in a traditional manner. Visakhapatnam North MLA Tynala Vijay Kumar and BJP leaders M. Nagendra and PVN Madhav attended.
At a separate programme at the temple behind Crescent Towers, TPT Colony, the kalyanam of Lord Rama was performed in which a number of devotees participated. The organisers distributed booklets on ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ and ‘Sankshepa Ramayanamu’ to the devotees.
At Chaitanyanagar, Maddilapalem, a large number of devotees participated in the celebrations. Prasadam was distributed to the devotees.