Medaram village, on the banks of Jampanna vagu, a tributary of the Godavari, in Telangana’s Mulugu district is abuzz with festive spirit as tens of thousands of devotees started pouring into the tribal village to participate in the historic four-day Sammakka Saralamma (Medaram) jathara scheduled to begin on Wednesday.
The biennial Medaram jathara, the largest tribal congregation in the country, exemplifies the age-old Adivasi customs, traditions and beliefs.
It commemorates the valour of Sammakka and Saralamma, the mother-daughter duo, who made supreme sacrifices in a valiant fight against the reigning rulers against an unjust law during the Kakatiya reign in the 12th Century, according to local lore.
The once in two-years mega tribal fair beckons devotees mainly tribals from the tribal hinterlands spanning Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Odisha and other parts of Gondwana region.
One of the striking features of the tribal fair is offering of jaggery, called ‘Bangaram’ (gold) in the local parlance, of a quantity equal to their weight by the devotees to tribal deities Sammakka an Saralamma (Sarakka) at the altar.
On the first day of the historic jathara, the tribal priests bring Saralamma from Kannepalli village as per tribal traditions and install a bamboo stick symbolising the tribal goddess at the altar, signaling the commencement of the jathara on Wednesday afternoon.
On Thursday, a casket of vermillion and bamboo stick symbolising Sammakka will be brought from Chilakalagutta to the altar in Medaram where it will be installed in tune with the tribal traditions.
Hordes of devotees will worship both Sammakka and Saralamma by offering jaggery and coconuts after taking a bath in Jampanna vagu and the jathara will culminate with ‘Vana Pravesham’ ritual on the concluding day on Saturday.
The State government has allocated ₹ 75 crore for the jathara to ensure basic amenities to the devotees with an emphasis on sanitation and health services keeping in view the expected huge footfall of more than one crore devotees over the four days of tribal fair.
The TSRTC has deployed 3,850 buses to ferry devotees to Medaram from various places in the State and also Sironcha in Maharashtra.
KHAMMAM, TELANGANA, 15/02/2022: District Collector Krishna Adhithya inspecting Sri Sammakka Sarakka Jathar arrangements in Medaram of Mulugu District in Telangana on Tuesday. February 15, 2022. Photo: G N RAO / The Hindu | Photo Credit: RAO GN
Collector S. Krishna Aditya on Tuesday made an on-the-spot assessment of the arrangements in the eight zones of the jathara site in Medaram to ensure provision of basic amenities to the devotees during the four-day jathara.
Superintendent of Police Sangram Singh Patil visited the command control centre and personally monitored the CCTV surveillance and bandobust arrangements in Medaram to prevent traffic snarls and ensure an incident-free jathara.
In all, around 10,000 police personnel drawn from various districts in the State in addition to the Mulugu district police have been stationed in the eight zones of the jathara area as per the elaborate bandobust plan.
Published - February 15, 2022 08:41 pm IST
