A.R. Rahman prays at Nagore Dargah during Santhanakoodu festival

The 469th celebration of the Santhanakoodu festival at the Nagore Dargah, culminated with the Periya Kandhuri procession in the early hours of Monday morning, with devotees thronging the shrine despite the incessant rain in the wake of Cyclone Ditwah.

Among those spotted paying homage at the shrine on Monday was music composer A.R. Rahman, wearing a red turban. His arrival at the Dargah by an autorickshaw created a buzz.

The 14-day festival commemorates the death anniversary of the Sufi saint Abdul Qadir, with the highlight being the application of specially prepared sandalwood paste on his grave (known as Rowla Sharif) by the Dargah Kalifa, the hereditary head cleric.

On Sunday, the sandalwood paste, kept in a decorated float, was brought ceremoniously down the streets of the coastal town in a procession, as folk drummers and Sufi singers marched along the ‘santhanakoodu,’ late into the night.

Sources at the shrine said that the procession had initially been delayed because of a tussle between the percussionists and singers of various bands, that was resolved with the intervention of local authorities.

On Monday around 5 a.m., Kalifa Masthan Sahib Qadri, the hereditary head cleric of the Dargah, was escorted by the members of the Nagapattinam Muslim Jamaat to the shrine, where he anointed the Rowla Sharif with sandal paste.

Administrators of the Dargah later distributed the remaining holy paste among the assembled worshippers.

Approximately 1,200 police personnel were deployed across Nagore and Nagapattinam for the duration of the festival. Personnel from Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, and Mayiladuthurai districts were roped in to strengthen the security grid.

The annual festival attracts large number of devotees from Karnataka, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh, and Indian diaspora from abroad. This year, the turnout might have been affected because of the inclement weather, sources said.