Crowds pack Kanchi temple two days before end of Athi Varadar fest
Ex-PM Gowda, Rajini, Wife Were Among Visitors
Sivakumar.B@timesgroup.com
Chennai:15.08.2019
In two days, the idol of Athi Varadar is set to go back into the tank at Kancheepuram’s Devarajaperumal temple where it had remained for 40 years and the number of devotees arriving for darshan has soared, keeping the authorities on their toes.
Since midnight on Tuesday, a host of VVIPs including superstar Rajinikanth and his wife and former Prime Minister Deve Gowda along with his son and former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumarasamy had streamed into the shrine. Rajinikanth and his wife, who remained in the shrine for about 30 miniutes, were honoured with shawls and garlands and a special arathi was performed, sources in the temple administration said. As the couple were about to leave, the star struck priests snapped pictures of the star and took selfies with him.
Later, Deve Gowda and Kumarasamy came along with their families.
“It is due to God’s blessings that we had very good rainfall this year and the Cauvery river is flooding. Both (Karnataka and Tamil Nadu) are sharing the water and farmers from both the states will benefit. We had good a darshan of the Lord,” Gowda told reporters.
K S Masthan, DMK legislator from Chengam assembly constituency who came with his family memebers, told reporters that he was excited to see a statue that would again be seen by the public only after 40 years and added that he had no problem in going to a temple though he was a Muslim.
On Thursday, Kancheepuram collector K Ponnaiah said, VIP darshan will be stopped at 12pm for a special ritual (garuda sevai) and resumed at 5pm. Devotees in the general queue, however, will be allowed to stream in throughout the day.
“Similarly, there will be no separate queue for VIPs and VVIPs on the last day,” said Ponniah.
Devotees on the last day will be allowed from 5am until all those in the queue have had darshan. “...After this we will not allow anyone in and the preparation to take the statue back into the water body will start,” said the collector.
Ponnaiah, who had been caught in a controversy after a video showing him scolding a policeman went viral on social media, on Wednesday was effusive in his praise of officials from all departments for having made the 48-day festival, which began on July 1, a success. “Except for a few policemen, all others from police as well as from other departments have done excellent work and have helped the devotees. Nearly 80 lakh devotees have so far had darshan,” said Ponniah.
TILL THE FEST LASTS: Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda visits Devarajaswamy temple in Kancheepuram on Wednesday. Other VVIP’s who visited the temple on the day included his son and former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumarasamy, actor Rajinikanth and his wife. With just two days to go before the idol of Athi Varadar is placed back into the tank inside the temple, the number of devotees visiting the temple has increased
Ex-PM Gowda, Rajini, Wife Were Among Visitors
Sivakumar.B@timesgroup.com
Chennai:15.08.2019
In two days, the idol of Athi Varadar is set to go back into the tank at Kancheepuram’s Devarajaperumal temple where it had remained for 40 years and the number of devotees arriving for darshan has soared, keeping the authorities on their toes.
Since midnight on Tuesday, a host of VVIPs including superstar Rajinikanth and his wife and former Prime Minister Deve Gowda along with his son and former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumarasamy had streamed into the shrine. Rajinikanth and his wife, who remained in the shrine for about 30 miniutes, were honoured with shawls and garlands and a special arathi was performed, sources in the temple administration said. As the couple were about to leave, the star struck priests snapped pictures of the star and took selfies with him.
Later, Deve Gowda and Kumarasamy came along with their families.
“It is due to God’s blessings that we had very good rainfall this year and the Cauvery river is flooding. Both (Karnataka and Tamil Nadu) are sharing the water and farmers from both the states will benefit. We had good a darshan of the Lord,” Gowda told reporters.
K S Masthan, DMK legislator from Chengam assembly constituency who came with his family memebers, told reporters that he was excited to see a statue that would again be seen by the public only after 40 years and added that he had no problem in going to a temple though he was a Muslim.
On Thursday, Kancheepuram collector K Ponnaiah said, VIP darshan will be stopped at 12pm for a special ritual (garuda sevai) and resumed at 5pm. Devotees in the general queue, however, will be allowed to stream in throughout the day.
“Similarly, there will be no separate queue for VIPs and VVIPs on the last day,” said Ponniah.
Devotees on the last day will be allowed from 5am until all those in the queue have had darshan. “...After this we will not allow anyone in and the preparation to take the statue back into the water body will start,” said the collector.
Ponnaiah, who had been caught in a controversy after a video showing him scolding a policeman went viral on social media, on Wednesday was effusive in his praise of officials from all departments for having made the 48-day festival, which began on July 1, a success. “Except for a few policemen, all others from police as well as from other departments have done excellent work and have helped the devotees. Nearly 80 lakh devotees have so far had darshan,” said Ponniah.
TILL THE FEST LASTS: Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda visits Devarajaswamy temple in Kancheepuram on Wednesday. Other VVIP’s who visited the temple on the day included his son and former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumarasamy, actor Rajinikanth and his wife. With just two days to go before the idol of Athi Varadar is placed back into the tank inside the temple, the number of devotees visiting the temple has increased
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