75,000 relish feast at Thirukalyanam

We began to serve food at 8 a.m. and stopped at 5 p.m.: organisers

Weddings are never complete without the ‘kalyana virundhu’ or the wedding feast, and the same was the case for the Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar ‘Thirukalyanam’ here on Saturday.

After witnessing the grand celestial wedding, devotees made a beeline to the Sethupathi Higher Secondary School here to have the ‘thirukalyana virundhu.’

The feast, which was coordinated by the Pazhamudir Solai Thiru Murugan Bhaktha Sabhai, was made possible with contributions of vegetables and other groceries from vendors at the Paravai and Mattuthavani wholesale markets as well as devotees.

“Nearly 75,000 people had food at the wedding feast this year. We began to serve food at 8 a.m. and stopped at 5 p.m.,” said Chamundi Vivekanandan, one of the organisers.

While some devotees landed up at the venue of the feast straight from the temple, there were many others who came from their homes after watching the live telecast.

“The food is extremely delicious and it is an honour for us to take the food prepared for the ‘thirukalyanam’,” said B. Malathy, a resident of Tirunagar.

“There is enough space here for people to sit and eat. The crowds were managed well by volunteers, who ensured neat queues and quick service,” she added.

The food was served in a buffet system where volunteers handed out plates with the food and kept the queue moving.

There were four enclosures, where people could queue up and receive food. Nearly, 1000 volunteers worked in shifts throughout the day to serve food.

“We kept the queue moving fast and managed to serve a minimum of six people within a minute to ensure that everybody got to eat,” a volunteer said.