‘Sami Puja’ was performed with reverence to ‘Jammi Chettu’ (Prosopis cineraria) as the Dasara festivities ended with devotees offering prayers for success in each and every venture.
All roads led to the Jammi Street at Lawyerpet where revellers assembled to offer puja to the sacred tree. It grows even under drought-prone condition and aids in environmental protection. Grand religious processions of deities from different temples were taken out to witness the ‘Dasara Paruveta’ all night on Thursday. It was after praying to the sacred tree Pandava princes had waged the Kurukshetra war, according to a legend.
The sacred tree had almost collapsed following the severe cyclonic storm in 1977. But it was revived and nurtured over the years by the local people as it is venerated in the twin epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata. According to a legend, Pandavas had hid their arms among the tree branches during their forest sojourn.
People waited in serpentine queues to have darshan of the Mother goddess decorated in Ammavari temples as ‘Sri Rajarajeswari Devi’ holding sugarcane and showing ‘abhaya mudra.’
Girls perform absorbing ‘Kolatam’ and Kuchipudi dance on the occasion
