The 18-day Koovagam festival concluded on Wednesday when the priests of Koothandavar temple in Koovagam broke the bangles and untied “thalis” worn by transgenders symbolically turning them into widows.
After participating in Miss Koovagam beauty contest in Villupuram district on Monday, the transgenders travelled 30 km to Koovagam village for the main event on Tuesday.
At Koothandavar temple, they re-enacted an episode from the Mahabharata where Lord Krishna took the avatar of Mohini, marries Aravan, the son of Arjuna.
The priests tied thali to the scores of devotees gathered at the temple.
In the epic, Mohini becomes a widow when Kali executes Aravan before the war between Pandavas and Kauravas.
The transgenders symbolically turned widows wearing white saris, breaking bangles and removing the “thali”.
Mobina from Chennai won the Miss Koovagam beauty contest. Preethi from Chennai finished second while Subashree from Erode came third.
