Tirunavaya Mahamagham yet to draw large crowds

The Mahamagham festival being held connected the banks of the Bharathapuzha astatine Tirunavaya is yet to gully the ample crowds anticipated by the organisers. However, lawsuit managers are hopeful that devotees from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu volition statesman arriving successful important numbers from January 22. The festival began connected Monday and volition tally done February 3.

Business remained mostly regular for traders successful Tirunavaya connected the 2nd time of the festival connected Tuesday, though they said they were looking guardant to busier days ahead. Chants of Vedic hymns echoed done loudspeakers passim the time arsenic devotees spent clip wrong the premises of the Navamukunda Temple.

Many visitors chose to instrumentality a beatified dip astatine the temple’s bathing ghat. However, restrictions and barricades were successful spot arsenic the Bharathapuzha flowing alongside the temple was deemed unsafe adjacent during the summertime months.

Aratis and different much elaborate rituals volition beryllium performed successful the evenings from January 22. A impermanent bamboo span built crossed the river, linking the expansive sandbank wherever swamis volition behaviour rituals, remained closed connected Tuesday. Organisers said the span would beryllium opened to the nationalist from Thursday. Priests and organisers reached the sandbank by vessel connected Tuesday to measure the preparations.

As galore arsenic 50 bio-toilets are being acceptable up astatine the venue. “We volition guarantee that the faecal discarded is removed utilizing a tanker and that it ne'er reaches the river,” said 1 of the organisers.

According to Sreelakshmi K., caput of the Tirunavaya panchayat, strict instructions person been issued to the organisers to adhere to greenish protocols. She said the organisers would cod the coagulated discarded and manus it implicit to the panchayat’s Harithakarma Sena. The panchayat bureau is located a fewer yards from the temple.

In the archetypal days of the festival, devotees from Malappuram and neighbouring districts arrived successful Tirunavaya. Many of them were regular temple pilgrims who besides sojourn different fashionable shrines specified arsenic Guruvayur and Kadampuzha.

“I came from Kozhikode arsenic a pilgrim tourist. I visited different temples arsenic well,” said Sukumaran P., an aged antheral successful his seventies, arsenic helium relaxed successful the chill breeze beneath the ficus histrion adjacent the temple.

For regular tourists visiting the Mamangam monuments maintained by the State Archaeology department, it was an mean day. Despite the Mahamagham festival, galore students toured sites specified arsenic the Changampalli Kalari, Manikkinar, and Marunnara. The Pazhukkamandapam adjacent to the temple saw lone a fistful of visitors.