Hundreds of devotees witness car festival of Natarajar temple in Chidambaram
The Hindu
The car festival could not be held last year following restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hundreds of devotees from Cuddalore and neighbouring districts thronged Chidambaram on Sunday to take part in the car festival of Sri Sabanayagar temple popularly known as Sri Natarajar temple, held as part of the Arudra Darshan festivities.
Five cars carrying the processional cum presiding deity Lord Nataraja and his consort Sivagamasundari, Lord Vinayaka, Lord Subramaniam and Chandigeswar rolled out from the temple premises at around 7.00 a.m. The devotees pulled the cars through the town, covering the four streets.
After the procession, Lord Natarajar and goddess Sivagamasundari were brought to the 1,000-pillar mandapam in the temple where special pujas would be performed.
The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.