Thiruvadipooram,Sri Andal Thiruther utsavam,Srivilliputtur

Dear members,

Tommorrow (27 july ,monday) is thiruvadipooram, the thirunakshatram

of Sri Andal,when the Andal thiruther utsavam will take place at

Srivilliputtur.Here is an account of the grand event which takes place

every year.

The Andal thiruther at Srivilliputtur is one of the largest in Tamil nadu

next only to the Thiruvarur thiruther.It is an excellent work of

craftmanship,with it's sides adorned with thousands of wonderful carvings

and passages cut inside to move around the ther.

The thiruther festival is one of the most eagerly awaited

festivals among the residents of srivilliputtur and nearby villages.A

district holiday for virdunagar district (in which srivilliputtur is

situated) is declared on thiruvadipooram day for the people from the

nearby areas to participate in large numbers.

For the festival the ther is decorated with long cylindrical

cloth decorators which hang from the top of the colourful wooden

superstructure(usually of 6 or 7 tiers),with the kalasam and the flag it

stands at about 70 feet.white guidelines are drawn on the road over which

the ther wheels are supposed to roll over for a smooth passage.

The ther goes around the four broad streets adjoining the temple

called the ratha veedhis.The corners of the streets are lined with

Thannner phandals and mooru (buttermilk) pandhals.

Thiruvadipooram day .It is around 8:30 am.and there is a buzz around

srivilliputtur with residents eagerly waiting for the procession to start

which is usually around 9:00 am depending on the day of the week.The mamis

and elderly persons have occupied strategic positions on the houses

lining the ratha veedhis.As a large crowd moves towards the ther, the

police officials and other volunteers have a tough time in controlling

them.Everyone is ready with the "vadam"(rope) on their hands.There are a

total of 4 to 7 vadams attached for pulling the ther.The bulldozer on the

back is ready.There are two persons on either side of the Ther holding

red and green flags.Two boys are literally standing on the hydraulic

brakes.some others are ready with the yennai(oil) for pouring it over the

wheels as the ther moves along. The boys with the "kudil kattai's "

(small chips of wood) are also ready.

With the sounds of Govinda Gopala the bhaktas keep increasing their

effort and in one sudden jolt the thiruther moves and comes out the its

permanent location ("nilai").Devotees with all their effort pull the ther

chanting Govinda Gopala.The massive ther moves slowly sometimes swaying

along the sides in a rythymic fashion.

As the ther is quite wide the margin for error is very less.Hence

it has to be pulled as "straight" as possible along the white lines

drawn on the road.Occassionaly due to the enthusiasm of the devotees the

ther sometimes gets pulled slightly sideways and the boys on the side

of the ther raise their red flags signalling the devotees to stop

their effort.The boys on the brakes ,jump on the brakes to stop the

ther .Once the ther has been stopped the volunteers decide how the ther

should be pushed by the bulldozer and pulled by the devotees so that

the shift can be corrected.

The ther also gets "stuck" when it encounters some of the soft

spots on the street.The boys with the "kudil kattai's" anticipate such

possibilities and throw wooden chips under the wheel so that when the

wheel is stuck it can be pulled out from the spot with minimal effort.

When the portion has been mended and everything is ready, the boys on the

sides of the ther show their green flags and it is time for the ther to

move.

Every now and then the BhaTTar swami performs the deepaaradhanai to

the divyadampathis.

It is around 12:30 pm now and many go for lunch.They tell their eager

relatives and neighbours that the ther is at such and such location,

have their lunch and take a small nap.The devout ones pull the ther till

the official break is announced which is usually around 2:00 pm.

At 4:30 pm it is time to start again.Everyone troops in slowly

to the place where the ther was left.The ther is pulled till it gets dark

(upto 6:30 or 7:00 pm)unless by that time the ther has reached its "nilai"

which is generally rare.

It usually takes slightly more than a day for the ther to reach it's

nilai owing to various interruptions as it usually gets "stuck" and "off

directed" quite a few times.After the ther reaches it's "nilai" everyone

present there lines up for the darsanam to get the blessings of sri andal

and sri rangamannar.

Well more than a single day for the completion of the thiruther utsavam

may seem to be a lot of time,but when one considers the fact that in the

earlier days it used to take more than a month for the procession to be

completed,it is a great improvement.Those days the ther was much larger

standing well over 80 feet with 13 tiers.It had 13 wooden wheels.

The thiruther utsavam was stopped some time ago and resumed

later.Subsequently with the temple car modernization project undertaken

by BHEL the wooden wheels were replaced with steel framed ones and

hydraulic brakes were installed to regulate movement of the ther.

Even today the participation in the thiruther utsavam has a special

attraction for all the srivilliputtur-vasis and one hopes to come again

and again to participate in the thiruther utsavam

As the days go by the decorations are removed and the wooden tiers are

dismantled leaving one with memories to linger on...till the next

thiruvadipooram

Dear members,let us all pray to secure the grace and blessings of

the Divine couple Sri Andal and Sri Rangamannar on this auspicious

occassion.

Sri Andal Sametha Sri Rangamannar Thiruvadigale Saranam

adiyen

Venkat S Iyengar

aerospace dept

IIT kharagpur