The giant chariots of Viswanatha Swami (Lord Shiva), Ganapati and Subramanian started rolling through the village of Kalpathy on Thursday, marking the beginning of the three-day finale of the famous Kalpathy chariot festival.
People pulled the deity-mounted chariots along the village road, giving the Tamil Brahmins living in agraharams a chance to offer prayers to gods in front of their houses. A spiritual fervour permeated the air as people bowed with folded hands and thanked the deities.
The chariot of Vishwanatha Swami stopped at Achanvadi on Thursday. It will resume the journey through the village on Friday.
The deity of Manthakkara Mahaganapati Temple too was taken out through the village, but not in a chariot. Thousands of people attended the chariot race.
Giant chariots
Apart from the chariot of Viswanatha Swamy, three other giant chariots with their respective deities mounted in them will begin their journey through the Brahmin village on Friday.
They will be the chariots of Manthakkara Mahaganapati Temple at New Kalpathy, Lakshmi Narayana Perumal Temple at Old Kalpathy, and Prasanna Mahaganapathy Temple at Chathapuram. The culmination of the festival will take place on Saturday when all the chariots come face to face in a mega celebratory confluence.
Thousands of people, including foreigners, are expected to arrive for the finale. Pulling the chariots of the main deities of Kalpathy is widely considered a propitious act by the people living in agraharams.
People from other places also reach Kalpathy to pull the chariots. Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the festival. A large posse of police personnel has been posted at Kalpathy.
