Kerala - Kochi   

Kannadigas to celebrate festival

KOCHI: The Kannada Sangha Cochin, an association of Kannadigas settled in the city, is all set to celebrate the forthcoming Vinayaka Chathurthi with gusto and splendour.

The association has drawn up five-day-long celebrations starting September 3. Apart from religious rituals and pujas, a variety of cultural programmes will be held every evening. Programmes will be staged near Hanuman Temple at Ernakulathappan ground here.

The celebrations will start off with puja and prathisthapan of Ganesh idol at 7 a.m. on September 3. District Collector M. Beena will inaugurate the cultural programmes in the evening. This will be followed by a devotional ganamela.

Various pujas will be conducted every morning throughout the five days. Rendering of bhajans, bharatanatyam and fancy dress by children would be staged as part of the cultural programmes.

A grand procession through MG Road, the city nerve centre, for immersing the Ganesh idol will mark the final day of celebrations.

“The procession will not be confined to Kannadigas. Members from every community, including Malayalis, will participate in it,” Padmakar Hegde, secretary of the organisation, said. He said that people’s representatives from Karnataka would be present on the final day.

Kannada Sangha Cochin, which has nearly 500 members from over 150 families, celebrates all festivals of Karnataka and Kerala.

Right after the Vinayaka Chathurthi festival, the Kannada community will go into celebratory mode again for Onam. “We have organised some competitions, including flower rangoli, for children and women. We will then take part in the celebrations of Malayalis. We want to give out the message that we are proud to be in Kerala and are very much part of its mainstream,” Mr. Hegde said.

For more details contact: 9388623464, 9349252621.

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