Andhra Pradesh - Tirupati   

`Gangamma jatara' begins

Special Correspondent

The eight-day festival will have fun and frolic for youth and children

IN GANGAMMA'S HONOUR: Priests offering harathi after tying `vadibalu' to the `Viswaroopa sthoopam' signalling the onset of the eight-day-long `Gangamma jatara' in Tirupati on Tuesday. - Photo: K.V. Poornachandra Kumar

TIRUPATI: The eight-day folk festival Gangamma jatara got off to a traditional start in Tirupati on Tuesday. Priests performed `abhishekam' to the `Viswaroopa Sthoopam' erected in front of the temple and later tied to it the conventional `Vadibalu' signalling the commencement of the festivities. Besides its devotional touch attracting the women, the festival this year will also have a lot of fun and frolic for youth and children.

Satimpu

After the traditional announcement (Satimpu) scheduled at midnight tonight at Avilala village on the outskirts of Tirupati, the next seven days will be marked by pageantries when the youths will criss-cross the streets of the town under different guises.

What is more, they will use foul language at the passers-bye in course of their trek to the temple. According to the local folklore, it is only these abusive epithets that please most the folk goddess Gangamma and that is why people do not take objection to youngsters donning the guises hurl at them their choicest epithets.

The festival will conclude on Tuesday with `chapralu' and smashing of the head of the huge clay model of the `Palegaru' by the goddess Gangamma.

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