Chittoor district with its cultural amalgamation of both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka has witnessed a confusion in the celebration of the Bhogi festival on Monday.
Tamil families in large numbers celebrated the festival by lighting camp fires (Bhogi Mantalu) in villages of Puttur, Karvetingaram, Nagari, GD Nellore, Chittoor, Gudipala, Palamaner, Gudupalle and Kuppam mandals bordering with Tamil Nadu. In Tamil Nadu, Bhogi festival is celebrated on Monday as per Tamil almanac.
The western and eastern parts of the district and Telugu families all over the district are to celebrate Bhogi on Tuesday, as per the calendar of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which fixed Bhogi on January 14 and Shankranti on 15. Several panchanga siddarthis (almanac experts) in various towns informed the people that it would be better to celebrate the festival on January 14, as they preferred to give prominence to the TTD calendar and to the popular sentiment attached to Lord Venkateswara.
Meanwhile, the district administration strictly prohibited cock fights, but the game went on unchecked in scores of villages in western mandals with bets running to several lakhs of rupees on the eve of the twin festivals.
The rural side has kept ready disbanded articles like broomsticks, waste papers and wooden goods, meant for lighting Bhogi fire. Participation of the youth in the rural areas remained the highlight as usual.
