It is a riot of colours, especially in the hues of white, black and red, represented by chalk, charcoal and vermilion, the three colours smeared by people all over their body. Devotional fervour pervades the temple city.
Any newcomer to the city will be surprised to see men dressed as women in resplendent costumes like sari, half-sari and salwar-kameez. Not only the bundle of flowers draped around the ‘tuft’, the gaudy application of lipstick, nail polish and the odd-looking ladies footwear, but also their typical masculine walk reveals their gender. Welcome to ‘Ganga Jatara’, the folk festival of Tirupati that hails the victory of feminine power over male lust.
Legend has it that a local chieftain ‘Palegadu’ outraged the modesty of Gangamma, who vowed to finish him. The scared Palegadu went into hiding and Gangamma visited the town in various guises and costumes and slayed him on the ninth day. Going by folklore, it is this incident that motivated the devout to don various guises to propitiate the Goddess and earn her blessings. Even today, the native locals of Tirupati, wherever they are located on the globe, religiously follow the practice of smearing colours on their bodies during the nine-day festival.
The temple at Thathayagunta in the heart of Tirupati witnesses heavy influx of devotees, including from the neighbouring Nellore and Kadapa districts, and Vellore and Tiruvallur districts of Tamil Nadu. As the goddess is believed to be the sister of Lord Venkateswara, it is a practice for the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) to present a set of sari, turmeric, bangles etc. (Saarey) to the temple, as a brother's birthday gift to his beloved sister.
