The famous Ganga Jatara of Chittoor town will be celebrated on May 12 and 13.
The district police and the event organisers are making elaborate arrangements.
The ‘chatimpu’ ritual (announcement) will be performed on May 5, which bars the denizens from making travels and leaving the town till the event is completed.
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The hysterical festival, which comes in the second week of May, has its history dating back to over a century ago. During the British Raj and while Chittoor was in Madras Province, the festival used to draw multitudes of people from several parts of the region.
On May 12, former MLA C.K. Jayachandra Reddy alias C.K. Babu, the hereditary trustee (dharmakartha) of the festival, will do the initial pujas in the early hours, followed by Ambali ritual.
During the two days, the denizens of Chittoor and surrounding villages throng the festival, while some of them wear different attires as part of vow.
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Unlike Tirupati Jatara, which will be performed in a temple, the Chittoor Jatara will be celebrated in the open, with no temple.
A specially made idol of the Goddess Shakti will be erected at Bazaar Street, with the paraphernalia of the deity’s countenance (face and eyes) coming from the Ponniamman Temple in the town.
On May 13 evening, the jatara will conclude with immersion of the idol at Kattamanchi tank in the town.
The ‘chatimpu’ ritual (announcement) will be performed on May 5, which bars the denizens from making travels and leaving the town till the event is completed