Fervour marks Ugadi celebrations

Vijayawada: Sri Durmukhi Nama Samvatsara Ugadi was celebrated with pomp and gaiety across the city on Friday.
Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam, atop Indrakeeladri wore a colorful look right from dawn with devotees, mostly womenfolk, started visiting the temple to seek the blessings of the presiding deity for prosperity.
Clad in new clothes, devotees queued up in large numbers from 5 a.m. to have darshan of goddess Kanaka Durga. The temple authorities made elaborate measures to ensure hassle-free darshan for the devotees. ‘Panchanga Sravanam’ was organised at Bhavani Mandapam with temple asthana pandit Pujyam Viswanath reading out the Telugu lunar almanac. Devotees listened in rapt attention to what was there in store for them while Sharma was reading out the contents of the new almanac as part of the celebrations.
According to the Vedas, listening to 'Panchanga Sravanam' helps a person to convert dormant good deeds in the heart to the implementation stage. It will also pass on the virtues to their family and future generations.
Temple in-charge executive officer Chandrasekhar Azad along with other temple authorities celebrated the Telugu New Year on the temple premises and savoured the ‘Ugadi Pachhadi’. ‘Vasantha Navaratri’ festivities began with temple authorities offering jasmine to Goddess Kanaka Durga at Asirvachana Mandapam on the first day as part of ‘Laksha Pushparchana’. More than 30 couples participated in the special puja. Sesha Vasthram, a blouse piece, five laddus and five pulihora packets were presented as prasadam to each devotee after the end of puja.
Later in the evening, Rathotsavam was organised by the temple authorities from Brahmin Street as part of Vasantha Navaratri. The chariot procession reaches Indrakeeladri after covering Srinivas Mahal Centre, Kaleswara Rao Market, Ganesh temple and other main streets of One Town.