Sculptures of brightly bedecked goddess Angala Parameshwari in various forms and sizes adorn the terrace of R. Suresh, a sculptor from Makkan, near Old Town in Vellore.
His terrace has been busy for a month as young sculptors have been making goddess sculptures, painting them in different colours ahead of the Mayana Kollai festival, which will be held along the dry Palar in Vellore and Ranipet districts on Wednesday. The festival, which is celebrated in the Tamil month of Maasi (February to March), a day after Mahasivaratri, was on hold due to the pandemic for the last two years.
With the State government easing lockdown restrictions, the festival has been revived with fervour by hundreds of devotees, both men and women, in the erstwhile Arcot region that includes Vellore, Ranipet, Tiruvannamalai and Tirupattur districts. “Sculptures have to be light to enable devotees to carry them to the festival spot, the Palar river bed. The sculptures are custom-made,” said R. Suresh, 31, a sculptor from Vellore. The figurines are carried by devotees before they are kept in front of the large clay goddess Angala Parameshwari on the river bed on Wednesday. They are made of dry grass and paper. Originally, the festival was a prayer for a better harvest. Paddy, cereals and seeds were sprayed on the clay sculpture.
Over the years, the festival has turned into more of a parade with many devotees dressing up in costumes. On the day of the festival, the clay idol of goddess Angala Parameshwari is taken on a chariot by devotees, in a procession covering key stretches in Vellore and nearby districts as they make their way to the burial ground near Palar river.
“Earlier, the festival was centred around farmers as they prayed to their ancestors for better harvest. Later, people from various fields have become part of the festival,” said R. Poonkundran, 75, former assistant director, State Archaeology Department. Meanwhile, the district administrations and the police in Vellore and Ranipet have asked devotees to adhere to a set of guidelines, including a ban on using cone-shaped loudspeakers, free distribution of food and organising music orchestras.
Only tractors and mini-lorries should be used to carry the deities during the procession, and everyone must follow all COVID-19 norms. More than 1,200 police personnel will be deployed in Vellore and Ranipet districts for the festival.
