A sea of humanity thronged Punganur on Tuesday, with the commencement of the two-day historical Suguturu Gangamma Jatara, a mass community festival, involving more than 200 villages in and around Punganur town, and the ardent devotees from the neighbouring States of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. This Punganur festival heralds the ‘Ganga Jatara season’ in Chittoor district, with temple after temple celebrating the mass events.
The Jatara’s historicity dates back to the early 18th century when the zamindari system was at its helm in Punganur during the British Raj. Goddess Suguturu Gangamma was believed to have incarnated at this once-vibrant province to drive away an evil spirit which was out to devour human beings in the form of a mysterious epidemic.
Local people of all communities have been celebrating this Jatara as thanksgiving to the goddess every year since then. A rare phenomenon of this festival is that the idol of goddess would be kept at her temple only for two days during the event, and during the rest of the year, it will be locked up in a chamber at the erstwhile zamindar’s palace. As part of the festivities, over two lakh people thronged the temple of the goddess near the palace, followed by the ‘first worship’ (tholi puja) by the descendants of the zamindari family. The idol was brought to the temple from the palace chambers amid heavy fanfare and hysterical beating of drums and street performances by traditional artistes of various genres. The festivities would continue till Wednesday evening, followed by sacrifice of sheep and poultry birds.
After the initial ‘pujas’, it was bloodbath at the palace zone with sacrifice of hundreds of goats and poultry birds. The sheep shandy witnessed heavy sales at record rates between ₹25,000 and ₹40,000 per each animal.
Special buses
The APSRTC plied special buses from Madanapalle, Palamaner and Chittoor for the event. Scores of local groups arranged feeding of the poor from morning.
