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Thousands witness Kalaralu procession
Thousands of devotees participated in the processions of Kalaralu, the unique tradition in Ongole, as part of the Dasara celebration here on Thursday midnight. The Nagarotsav continued till the morning until they culminate at Dargah centre and returned to their respective temples after Mangala Harati.
Ongole: Thousands of devotees participated in the processions of Kalaralu, the unique tradition in Ongole, as part of the Dasara celebration here on Thursday midnight. The Nagarotsav continued till the morning until they culminate at Dargah centre and returned to their respective temples after Mangala Harati.
Kalaram, an idol of deity made with Panchaloha, is used in procession in the place of presidng deities as part of Dasara celebrations.
It is said that Ongole is the town where Kalaralu procession is being taken out after Mysore and the tradition is in place for nearly 100 years here. In Ongole, the devotees of six temples decorates the Kalaralu and prepared them for procession on two days, the Durgashtami and Maharnavami.
The artistes in attires like Siva, Kalika and others follow the processions and perform dance and enthrall devotees all the way. The Kalaralu, after going through the streets in the town will culminate at the Mastan Dargah in the early morning.
On Durgashtami, the Kanakadurga Kalaram from the Poleramma and Kanakadurga temple at Balajiraopet, Kalikadevi Kalaram from Kalika temple at Eemanipalem, Nrisimhaswami Kalaram from the Lakshmi Nrisimhaswami temple at BVS Hall participated in the procession.
On Maharnavami, the Balatripurasundari Devi Kalaram from Balatripurasundari Devi temple at Kothapatnam bus stand, Parvati Devi Kalaram from Pataleswara Swami Parvati Devi temple at Gantapalem and Mahishasura Mardhani Kalaram from Vijayadurga temple at Kesavaswamipet participated in the procession.
On Thursday night, the Durgashtami day, the Kalaralu started from their temples around 11:30 pm for Nagarotsav followed by hundreds of devotees. As the deities passed through the streets, thousands of families offered pooja, harathi even after midnight.
At around 5:30 am they reached the Mastan Dargah centre and returned to temples after final harati by the temple priests. On Friday night, the organisers have made elaborate arrangements for Kalaralu of Balatripurasundari, Parvati Devi and Mahishasuramardhani.
