Maha Sivaratri was celebrated with traditional fervour all over the city on Friday. Scores of devotees thronged temples of Lord Siva from the early hours of the day. Special pujas were performed at temples in the city.
A huge ‘Sivalingam’ made up of 1 crore small ‘Sivalingams’ was installed at the Ramakrishna Beach by the T. Subbarami Reddy Lalita Kala Parishat where the ‘Mahakumbhabhishekam’ was performed. The programme began from 5 a.m. onwards.
Hundreds of people gathered at the beach road to be a part of the programme. On the occasion,
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Award for Suman
‘Adhyathmika Nata Praveena’ award was conferred on actor Suman who made a name for himself by playing the roles of deities Venkateswara, Siva and Rama.
Other film personalities like Rajasekhar and Jeevitha participated in the programme.
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The city police made elaborate arrangements for the smooth flow of traffic on the Beach Road and to ensure the orderly movement of devotees on the beach.
The whole area reverberated with the chants of Lord Siva. Later in the evening, a dance ballet on ‘Dakshayajnam’ was presented by 96 artistes of Nataraj and team.
Maha Sivaratri was celebrated at Prajapita Brahma Kumaris’ Iswariya Viswa Vidyalaya, Seethammadhara branch, in a grand manner. Former mayor Sabbam Hari was the chief guest on the occasion and the special guest was Muralidhar Pradhan, Industrial Tribunal District Judge, Hyderabad.
Around 200 Brahma Kumaris and Kumars dressed in white attire participated in the world peace march along with a big Sivalingam around the Seethammadhara area. As part of the evening programme, 108 lights were lighted by couples. Cultural programmes were presented on the occasion.
‘Abhishekams’, ‘rudrabhishekam’ and ‘mahadeep darshan’ marked Sivaratri celebrations organised by Utkal Sanskrutika Samaj at Siva temple in the Jagannath temple complex, Daspalla Hills.
Utkalika Cultural Association performed special pujas at the newly consecrated Siva temple at Ukkunagaram. RINL Director (Projects) P.C. Mohapatra and others participated.