Sea of Devotees for Ganga Jatara at Tataiahgunta Temple
TIRUPATI: Devotees were in large numbers here on Tuesday as the annual Ganga Jatara reached its grand finale at the Tataiahgunta Gangamma temple and various Gangamma temples in the city.
Devotees in large numbers from different parts of Rayalaseema and neighboring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka came to participate in the age-old folk festival dedicated to Goddess Gangamma. The surroundings of the temple were packed from early morning as devotees formed long queues to pray and perform traditional rituals.
Devotees offer ‘Pongallu’ to the Goddess, believing that worshiping Gangamma during Jatara will bring prosperity, protection and good luck to their families. The presiding deity was adorned with a special ‘Alankaram’ and attracted thousands of devotees to come for darshan throughout the day.
The seven-day folk festival began with the traditional ‘Chatimpu’ on May 5 and continued with various ‘Veshams’ observed by devotees on successive days. Tuesday was the last and most important day of the celebrations. After the government declared Tirupati Ganga Jatara as a state festival, participation in the annual event is increasing every year.
All Gangamma temples in Tirupati, except the main temple, witnessed heavy footfalls. As part of the local traditions associated with the festival, a large number of devotees visited the shrines wearing traditional ‘Perantallu’ attire. ‘Ragi Ambali’ was distributed to devotees at various places, continuing a long-standing practice associated with Jatara celebrations.
There was heavy traffic jam around the Tataiahgunta temple area throughout the day due to the continuous arrival of devotees. Police personnel, temple staff and volunteers faced the difficult task of regulating the crowds and maintaining traffic flow, especially in the evening hours when the rush becomes more intense.
As part of the concluding rituals, a clay idol known as ‘Viswaroopam’ will be placed in front of the temple after Tuesday midnight. According to tradition, a member of the Kaikala community dressed as ‘Perantallu’ will perform the ritual called ‘Chempa Tholagimpu’ by removing the cheek part of the idol. The remaining clay from the idol will then be distributed among devotees who believe it has healing powers.
Meanwhile, Nadiveedi Gangamma Jatara started in Chittoor on Tuesday. Family members of hereditary trustee and former MLA CK Babu performed the inauguration rituals. Local MLA Gurajala Jagan Mohan and his wife also attended the first puja. A large number of devotees gathered to fulfill their vows and offer offerings to Pongallu during the Jatara, which will continue for two days.
