Patches of cement covered the potholes, roads were cleaned and the debris was swept to the corners along the roads leading to Vaithikuppam to let the deities from across Puducherry pass through in a spectacular procession.
These were the scenes that the coastal city woke up to on the auspicious day of Masi Magam on Thursday.
Traders from Chidambaram and neighbouring villages put up makeshift shops selling porcelain dishes, cups and toys for the hundreds of devotees who walked towards the Vaithikuppam coast. A senior police officer said that since the Masi Magam festival was also celebrated in Thirukanji in Villianur, it pulled away a huge number of devotees from offering prayers for the idols that were brought to the sea shore.
Idols of deities from nearly 100 temples from villages across Puducherry began proceeding towards the coast for ‘Theerthavari’ (sprinkling sea water) ceremony. The sea of devotees trickled down from 6 a.m. till late evening to take a holy dip in the sea to pay obeisance to their forefathers and offer ‘tharpanam’.
Residents of Vaithikuppam felt the conspicuous absence of the enormous crowd that filled this sea shore in the preceding years. “People from all the villages in Puducherry and adjoining areas would throng this area in the 1980s and 90s. Over the years, it has come down and we could see a drastic reduction in the number of devotees. Most of the people coming now are from Puducherry town,” said Natarajan, a resident of Vaithikuppam.
The festival seems to be losing its lustre with scores of people dumping garbage on the streets.
Lack of arrangements
Free food was served at numerous points on Pappammal Koil Street, SV Patel Road for the devotees. By afternoon, the roads were filled with plastic and food waste with no one clearing it. Uma, a devotee, rued that it was appalling to see so much waste on the road. “People did not bother to clear it and the government agencies failed to make arrangements to instal dust bins. This should not happen on an auspicious day like this,” she said.
Meanwhile, Aura, a unit of the Auroservice Trust, organised a festival immersion-guided walk on Thursday in connection with the Masi Magam festival to celebrate an auspicious day believed to be one of the most powerful full moons of the full year and ideal for spiritual renewal.
Participants who gathered at Aura on Goubert Avenue were taken on a walk including a visit to a temple, joining the immersion procession to the sea to take part in rituals and a community lunch to cap the three-hour experience.
According to Aura, the main feature of the festival is the ritual bath given to the deities in the waters of ‘Theerthavari’ or Bay of Bengal. Idols of more than 100 temples from here and Cuddalore and Villupuram districts were installed on the shore from early morning for performing theerthavari.
Early in the morning, a big colourful procession of devotees with the deities isorganised from the temple to the sea shore, with the accompaniment of the auspicious Nadhaswaram,a non-brass acoustic South Indian instrument.
Temple idols, especially those of Lord Siva, Shakti, and Lord Vishnu, are given a ceremonial bath.
Households also prepare payasam (rice pudding made with milk and sugar) and offer it to Lord Chandra (Moon God). It is believed that offering payasam to Lord Chandra on Masi Pourmani day bring good health and long life to children, Aura said in a press note.
