For Shankar and his friends, the Mylapore float festival signifies tradition in more ways than one. Their forefathers, who had made Mylapore their home, had been building the float for the festival.
“Right from our childhood we have been a part of all the temple festivals of Mylapore. I learnt to work on and build the float from my grandfather. Except for the Srinivasa Temple, we have been building the float for the festivals in various temples in Mylapore from time immemorial,” says Shankar, who is a shamiyana contactor.
For the five-day float festival of Adi Kesava Perumal Koil, Chitrakulam, which was inaugurated last week by Justice T. Raja, Madras High Court, the team started work four days prior to the event.
“Building of a float involves a lot of engineering skills. It is like a mini-ship. The only difference is that the base is created using empty drums over which are placed 200 casuarina tree logs and plywood. For the Chitrakulam float festival, which measures 15x15 feet, we had to use 77 drums. The toughest part is tying the drums. We would have used up 200 rolls of thick rope to keep the float intact. Fifteen people were involved in making the float,” says Saravanan Kumar, who, along with Shankar, is part of the Thirumylai Sri Padam, a group of 100 volunteers working for the temples of Mylapore.
The work is undertaken inside the tank.
“We work in hip-deep water. The float has to take three tonnes of weight including the mandapam and the idols of the god and goddess, also around 50 people climb on it during the festival. Before it can be used, a PWD official comes and checks the float for safety. Only after the inspection is permission given to use the float,” says Shankar, adding that no untoward incident had happened during the festival.
Float festivals are also a time for the young and the old to bond.
“Many inquisitive kids come here while we are working on a float. If they are very keen, we let them carry out some small work too. Kids are given first preference to get a ride on the float,” they say.
The team is also involved in the float festival at the Kapaleeshwarar Temple. “It is a bigger structure. We start work 10 days in advance. We don’t do this for the money the temple authorities give us. It is a part of our family tradition, and we don’t want to let go of it,” says Shankar.
