Thousands of devotees join Kalaralu procession

Ongole: Thousands of devotees took part in the Kalaralu processions, a unique Dasara tradition of Ongole, on Sunday night. Nagarotsav continued until Monday afternoon. The Kalarams met one another at Dargah centre and then returned to their own temples after Mangala Harati.

A Kalaram is a deity idol made of Panchaloha. During Dasara, devotees carry it in a vehicle in a midnight procession, replacing the god or goddess from the sanctum sanctorum. Ongole has followed this tradition for over a century.

On Durgashtami night, three Kalarams joined the procession. They were Kanakadurga Kalaram from Poleramma and Kanakadurga temple at Balajiraopet, Kalikadevi Kalaram from Kalika temple at Eemanipalem, and Nrisimhaswami Kalaram from Lakshmi Nrisimhaswami temple at BVS Hall. Before Kalarams began their Nagarotsav, Ongole MLA Damacharla Janardhan and his wife took part in the puja at Poleramma temple.

As the deities passed through the streets, thousands of families offered pooja and Harathi, even after midnight. Around afternoon on Monday, the three Kalarams reached the Mastan Dargah centre and stood facing each other. Priests from the three temples offered Mangala Harathi to the other deities. Then artists dressed as Kali and Durga performed the Rakshasasamharam act. After that, the Kalarams headed to their own temples.

Balatripurasundari Devi Kalaram from the 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 will take part in Kalaram processions on Maharnavami night.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Naresh Nandam

Naresh.Nandam[email protected]

Naresh Babu Nandam works as a Special Correspondent at The Hans India and primarily covers the erstwhile Prakasam district. He has a master's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and a bachelor's degree in Law. He has around twenty years of experience in print and broadcast journalism. He is a certified Google News Initiative trainer for fact-checking and online verification. Outside his journalism work, he is an OSINT practitioner and takes part in CTF challenges. He is the author of a spiritual thriller titled 'The Amber Scroll', available on Amazon.in.

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