Cape Festival, Kanyakumari
Kanyakumari,
also known as "Cape Comorin" is located at the southern most tip
of India, where the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea meet. A
dip in the ocean here is considered holy, but the sea is rough here and not
fit for bathing. This is the only place in India, where the sunset and
moonrise can be viewed simultaneously on a full moon day.
The Vivekananda memorial set amidst the sea is a place known to give mental
emancipation. The Cape festival is celebrated on a large scale for three
days at Kanyakumari. The festival is marked by a series of cultural
programs.
How to get there ?
Air - The nearest airport is at Thiruvananthapuram
(80-km), which is well connected with national and International flights.
From Thiruvananthapuram, one can take a taxi or bus to Kanyakumari.
Rail - Kanyakumari is well connected by train services
with all the places in India. Superfast trains connect the southern most
railhead of India with northern cities like Jammu and Delhi. Intercity
trains Experience Indian Festivals are running from almost all the southern
cities.
Road - Kanyakumari is connected by regular bus services
with all the major cities of the state such as Chennai, Pondicherry,
Bangalore , Trichy, Madurai, Mandapam (Rameshwaram), Nagercoil, Tuticorin,
Tiruchendur, Tiruvelveli, Trivandrum, etc.
Car Festival at Kaliyaperumal Temple in
Ariyalur
The
Kaliyaperumal temple is a major attraction of Ariyalur. This temple is
famous for its "Car festival" which is conducted yearly. The
people of Ariyalur celebrate the festival grandly.
A Ten-Day Celebration :
The car festival is a 10-day celebration for the small town of Ariyalur.
The festival starts with the day of "Srinavame" in the month of
Chithirai or Panguni (March-April). The grand event of Eganthem Sevai for
Varatharajapermual is on 10th day of festival. The festival attracts people
from all over the state of Tamil Nadu.
The temple is also famous for the Puraittasi Saturdays. Every year in the
month of 'Puraittasi' (September), special Pujas, 'Arathanai', 'Abishekams',
etc are done on the four Saturdays. This also is a major attraction of the
Kaliyaperumal tem
How to get there ?
Air - The nearest airport is at Trichy.
Rail - Ariyalur is well connected by rail with all the
major cities within cities.
Road - Ariyalur is accessible by road with the important
places within and beyond the state. Ariyalur is located 250-km south of
Chennai and 60-km from Trichy towards northeast.
Karthigai Deepam Festival
Karthigai
Deepam is the oldest festival of South India , which is also the most
elaborate and the most important festival. Karthigai Deepam falls in the
Tamil month of Karthigai when the star Krithigai is on the ascendant and
usually occurs on a full moon day. This festival is also called as "the
Festival of Lights".
Speciality Of The Month :
The month of Karthigai is of special importance to Tamil people, which
derives its name from the star 'Krithigai'. Lord Shiva, with His divine
light, created Lord Muruga, in this month.
The Legend Behind The Festival :
The popular legend behind the celebrations goes like this- Once upon a time
the Devas, the heavenly immortals, put in their best possible efforts to
have a complete Darshan of Lord Shiva. During this process Lord Brahma took
the form of a swan and Lord Vishnu in the form of a boar conducted an
extensive search in the sky and in the neither world did they find him.
Lord Shiva asked Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu to find out the exact location
of his head and his feet. Since Lord Shiva took a gigantic form, they were
not able to find him anywhere. Then Lord Shiva appeared before them in the
form of a flaming light whose ends cannot be defined on the hill of
Thiruvannamalai. Therefore, this festival is also known as Annamalai Deepam.
Here, a special torch is lighted on the zenith of the hill and it is
believed that Lord Shiva's Jyoti will be visible on this day. The festival
is celebrated in a special manner in Thiruvannamalai.
Lord Muruga took the form of six babies in a lake called "Saravana
Poigai". On this day, Parvati (his mother) united all his six forms and
so Lord Muruga has six faces. Special pujas are performed to Lord Muruga.
Antiquity Of The Festival :
Evidence from Tamil literature proves that this festival is one of the
oldest in the state. In ancient Tamil literature, the oldest available work
Tolkappiyam gives in concise verse form rules for Tamil grammar as well as
other topics. Scholars agree that this work dates back to 2,000 or 2,500 BC.
In one of the formulae Tolkapiyar in his treatise uses the phrase "like
the lamp's flame pointing upwards." This phrase, says one of the
commentators, refers to the beacon lit on the Annamalai Hill, which burns
brightly without flickering in the wind, and flares up towards the sky.
In another epic "Jeevakachintamani" written by a Jain poet,
Thiruthakka Thevar, the poet describes how people celebrated the Karthigai
Deepam festival. In other ancient Tamil literature of the Sangam period, the
Karthigai Deepam festival is described vividly.
In "Karnarpadu", the poet in one of the stanzas, describes how in
the Tamil month of Karthigai (is ii Kartik month!) during the time of the
Krithigai star, the lamps lit by people blossomed on earth, bringing rain in
its wake. In another Tamil work, the "Kalavazhi Narpadu" dating
back to the third Sangam period (after 1,000 BC) the poet says, "In the
battle the blood oozing out from the dead soldiers' bodies is like the red
coloured flame of the lamps lit during Karthigai Deepam festival". In
another Sangam work, "Pazhamozhi", in stanzas ending in proverbs,
one stanza ends with this phrase, "like the beacon on the Hill."
A Longer Deepavali Celebration :
This festival is considered as the extension of the Deepavali festival. In
some houses, they double the number of lamps every day from the day of
Deepavali and this way, they end up with a number of lamps on the day of
Karthigai Deepam.
On this day, people clean their houses and draw 'Kolams' (Rangoli) in front
of the house and also place some lamps on it. They place the lamps ('Agal')
in the puja room and light them and after the 'Deeparathana' (puja) the
lamps are moved to the different places in the house. The lamps glow all
over the streets on this day.
Celebrations At Tiruvannamalai :
Karthigai Deepam is the most important festival, when devotees walk round
the hill and worship the Bharani Deepam, which is lit early in the morning
on the final day of the festival, in the sanctum sanatorium. The Deepam is
lit in a gigantic, circular metal vessel that can hold about 2,000 litres of
ghee. It is five and half feet in height and five feet in diameter. For
making the wick, 30m of 'Ghada' cloth is used and is burnt with 2 kilos of
camphor on the night of 'Karthigai Pournami'. The Jyoti can be sighted from
nearly 35-km around.
The lighting of the beacon on the top of the hill is the culmination of ten
days of hectic activity in the temple town. The lighting of the Maha Deepam
will take place simultaneously with "Deeparadhanam" to the five
deities in the temple at the foot of the hill.
Kavadi Festival
The
most potent propitiatory rite that a devotee of Lord Muruga undertakes to
perform is what is known as the "Kavadi". The benefits that the
devotee gains from offering a Kavadi to the Lord are a million fold greater
than the little pain that he inflicts upon himself.
Generally, people take a vow to offer the Lord a Kavadi for the sake of
tiding over a great calamity. Though this might on the face of it appear
mercenary, a moment's reflection will reveal that it contains in it the seed
for the supreme love for God. The worldly object is achieved, no doubt, and
the devotee takes the Kavadi; but after the ceremony he gets so
God-intoxicated that his inner spiritual chamber is opened. This is also a
method that ultimately leads to the supreme state of devotion.
The Kavadi :
The 'Kavadi' varies in shape and size from the simple shape of a street
hawker's storehouse (a wooden stick with two baskets at each end, slung
across the shoulder) to the costly palanquin structure, profusely flower-
bedecked and decoratively interwoven with peacock feathers. In all cases the
Kavadi has a good many brass bells adorning it and announcing it as the
Kavadi-bearer draws it along. As, very often, the Kavadi bearer observes
silence; the bells are the only eloquent signs of a Kavadi procession.
The two baskets hanging at either end of the Kavadi will contain rice, milk
or other articles that the devotee has vowed to offer to Lord Muruga. The
more devout among them, and especially those who do it as a 'Sadhana'
(meditation), collect these articles by begging. They travel on foot from
village to village, and beg from door to door. The villagers offer their
articles directly into the basket of the Kavadi.
The Kavadi-bearer continues begging until the baskets are full or the
avowed quantity is reached, and then offers the Kavadi to the Lord. Some
keen devotees undertake to walk barefooted from home to one of the shrines
of Lord Muruga, bearing the Kavadi all the way, and collecting materials for
the offering. He has to walk a hundred miles sometimes! The people who place
the articles in the baskets also receive the Lord's blessings.
The Kavadi-Bearer :
The Kavadi-bearer is required to observe various rules between the time he
takes up the Kavadi and the day of the offering. He has to perform elaborate
ceremonies at the time of assuming the Kavadi and at the time of offering it
to the Lord. He also puts on the dress of a 'Pandaram', a Shaivite
mendicant. It consists of a saffron-coloured cloth, a scarlet conical cap,
and a cane silver-capped at both ends. Lord Shiva, the Supreme Pandaram,
Himself loves to wear this dress. The Pandaram lives on alms only. The
Kavadi-bearer's bare chest is covered with several 'Rudraksha Malas'
(rosaries).
The Kavadi-bearer observes celibacy. He takes only pure, Satwic food; he
abstains from all sorts of intoxicating drinks and drugs, He continuously
thinks of God. Many of the Kavadi-bearers, especially those who do it as a
spiritual Sadhana, impose various sorts of self-torture upon themselves.
Celebrations :
The Kavadi festival is celebrated at all shrines of Lord Muruga. Dancing in
a hypnotic trance to the rhythm of drums, devotees of Muruga carry the
Kavadi all the way up the Palani hills to fulfill their vow. Ettukudi Kavadi
Festival is a famous festival celebrated during the months of April-May.
Devotees from places and villages around this temple come here with Kavadis,
milk pots, coconuts, cocks and goats. This is a major crowd pulling festival
where one can see the true Tamil culture in its habitat.
