Thousands witness Kalaralu procession in Ongole

Ongole: Thousands of devotees participated in the processions of Kalaralu, the unique tradition in Ongole as part of the Dasara celebration in Ongole on Tuesday midnight.

The nagarotsav continued till Wednesday morning as they met one another at Dargah centre and returned to their respective temples after Mangala Harati.

Kalaram, an idol of the deity made with Panchaloha is used in the midnight procession in the place of the god or goddess in the sanctum sanctorum, as part of Dasara celebrations.

It is said that Ongole is the town that Kalaralu processions is being organizsd after Mysore in India and the tradition is in place for nearly a hundred years here since this place was ruled by Mandapati Rajas under the emperorship of Mysore Maharajas.

In Ongole, the devotees of six temples decorated the Kalaralu and prepared them for the procession on two days of Durgashtami and Maharnavami.

The artistes in attires like Siva, Kalika and others follow these processions and perform dance and entertain the devotees all the way.

The Kalaralu, after going through the streets in the town, met at 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 busstand, Parvati Devi Kalaram from Pataleswara Swami Parvati Devi temple at Gantapalem and Mahishasura Mardhani Kalaram from Vijayadurga temple at Kesavaswamipet will participate in the procession.

On Tuesday night, the Durgashtami night, the Ongole MLA Damacharla Janardhan and his wife participated in the prayers at the Poleramma and Kanakadurga temple and Narasimha Swamy temple before the Kalarams started their Nagarotsav at around 12:30 AM followed by hundreds of devotees.

As the deities pass through the streets, thousands of families offered pooja, harathi even after the midnight.

At around 06:00 AM on Wednesday morning, the three Kalarams reached the Mastan Dargah centre facing each other and the priests from the three temples offered Mangala Harathi to the other deities.

Later, the artistes in various attires like Kali and Durga performed the act, Rakshasasamharam before the Kalarams heading to their own temples.

On Wednesday night, the organizsrs and police department made arrangements for the Procession of Balatripurasundari.

Parvati Devi and Mahishasuramardhani Kalaralu in the same model they did on Tuesday night.