Gangamma fest begins with religious fervour

Chittoor: The first Gangamma Jatara in Rayalaseema region has begun in Sanjay Gandhi Nagar here on Tuesday. There is a strong belief among the devotees that Goddess Gangamma would bless them with adequate rains besides health and wealth by organising the festival with pomp and gaiety.

Residents of Sanjay Gandhi Nagar have donated liberally to make Jatara a grand success. Cutting across religion and caste lines, devotees pray to Goddess and offer Ambali (prasadam) to her. On the first day of festival, some devotees have danced in front of the Goddess wearing costumes looking like mythological characters.

The two-day festival concludes on Wednesday with the immersion of Gangamma idol. On Tuesday, bureaucrats and the politicians have attended the festival in the early hours. Among those, who offered prayers to Goddess are Chittoor sitting MLA D A Satyaprabha and former MLA CK Babu. It is a tradition to invite relatives for the festival.

Speaking to The Hans India, Rajyalakshmi, a retired bank employee, described the festival as the most important one for all the communities. "It is a spiritual and traditional festival witnessing for the last several decades. There are no archakas in the temple. Each devotee is allowed to be an archaka for performing pujas," she explained. DSP Ramanjaneyulu is supervising the security for Jatara.