Navaratri idols attain Thiruvananthapuram from throughout the border

The procession of Navaratri idols from Padmanabhapuram Palace in neighbouring Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu reached Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple within the metropolis on Monday night, marking the formal starting of the annual Navaratri celebrations.

The idols of Goddess Saraswathi, mounted on a caparisoned elephant, from Padmanabhapuram Thevarakkett; the idol of Kumaraswamy from Velimalai Murugan Temple atop a silver horse; the idol of Munnuttinanga from Sthanumalayan Temple in a adorned palanquin, and the ‘Uduvaal’ (ceremonial sword taken in entrance of the procession by a consultant of the Tamil Nadu Devaswom) got a reception held with the assist of the Union Ministry of Tourism at Killipalam by Antony Raju, MLA; senior Congress chief Ok. Muraleedharan, Travancore Devaswom Board president P.S. Prasanth; and Valiyasala ward councillor S. Krishnakumar, and office-bearers of the Travancore Navaratri Festival Trust have been current. A kathakali programme was held on the event.

Thirty members of the ladies’s police battalion gave a guard of honour to the procession.

Later, members of the royal household of erstwhile Travancore acquired the idols at Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple.

The idol of Goddess Saraswathi and the Uduvaal will probably be put in at Navaratri Mandapam, the idol of Kumaraswamy and the 1,000-kg silver horse at Arysala Devi temple, and idol of Munnuttinanga and the palanquin at Chenthitta Devi temple until October 4.

The idols will then return to Padmanabhapuram in a return procession. The metropolis police, led by District Police Chief (Thiruvananthapuram) will give the idols a guard of honour at Killipalam on the return journey. The idols will attain the respective temples in Kanyakumari from October 5 to 7, bringing the curtain down on this 12 months’s Navarathri celebrations.

Meanwhile, cultural programmes involving artistes from varied States will probably be held at Nemom Cooperative Kalyana Mandapam from Tuesday to October 5.

A youngsters’s portray competitors will probably be held at 8 p.m on September 27. A medical camp will probably be held on October 1 on the Kalyana Mandapam from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., belief secretary S.R. Ramesh mentioned.