Huge turnout for Aadi Pooram car festival at Andal temple

Despite the hot sunny day, thousands of devotees thronged the Andal Temple here to participate and witness the car festival conducted on Aadi Pooram on Monday.

All the four Car Streets were teeming with devotees, who had flocked to the temple from far and near. While the most enthusiastic devotees turned up early to pull the vadams (ropes of the car), others lined up along the Car Streets to see the beauty of the colourful decorations as the car moved.

They also offered prayers to the urchava moorthi of the presiding deities, Andal and Lord Rengamannar, kept atop the temple.

Earlier, the deities were brought to the car after special puja and deeparathana. Pujas were performed at the top of the car also.

Revenue Minister K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran and Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu, Virudhunagar Collector N.O. Sukhaputra, MLAs, A.R.R. Srinivasan and S. Thangapandi and Sivakasi Mayor I. Sangeetha, were among those who pulled the car when the event started at 9.10 a.m.

Chanting slogans of Govinda Gopala by the devotees enthused the large gathering in pulling the huge wooden car. Several groups of men and women performed kolattam and sang the pasuram ahead of the car.

The crowd kept pouring in from all sides to the Car Streets throughout the event unmindful of the sweltering weather. However, with a set of workers involved in putting the wooden logs to stop and steer the car at the turnings, led to slowing down of the car pulling event. The car finally reached its parking lot on East Car Street after going around the temple at 1 p.m.

Devotees queued up in large numbers to offer darshan after the car reached its parking lot. Later, the deities were taken into the temple.

A large number of police personnel, led by Superintendent of Police D. Kannan, were deployed to regulate the crowd.