Mangalore: Annual Car Festival Celebrated with Gaiety
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje/Savitha B R
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (PS)
Mangalore, Feb 10: The annual grand Car Festival of Sri Venkataramana Temple was witnessed on Thursday February 10 at Car Street with great pomp and gaiety. As part of the celebration, carrying of the deity on a huge wooden ‘Theru’ was held in the evening. This in turn attracted the devotees in large numbers across the globe.
The five-day event of the Gauda Saraswat Brahmin community is a commemoration of the divine union of Lord Venkataramana and Goddess Padmavathi. This four century-old temple also provides an opportunity to the devotees to mix together and meet their friends, class mates, and relatives from various parts of the world at least once during the annual car festival.
Before being seated in the elaborately decorated chariot, the idol of Lord Venkataramana was taken in a procession in a golden palanquin around the sanctum sanctorum, accompanied by musical instruments, bhajans and devotees, who repeatedly chanted the name of the Lord in loud voices.
The devotees, young and old let themselves to be swayed by merriment. The festival is also known as Kodial Theru in which men and women participate equally in the religious and cultural celebrations.
On the penultimate day of the festival the large chariot with the deity in it, is pulled along the street by a huge number of devotees. The festival is not only celebrated by the GSB community but also by the all people of Mangalore irrespective of their caste and creed. The idol of the deity Veera Venkatesha, which dates back to the Vijayanagara era, is seen uniquely decorated during the festival.
Tomorrow colorful ‘Okkuli’ festival will be celebrated which is the final day of the Mangalore Car Festival.