Bhadradri float festival enthralls all

Bhadrachalam: The float festival of Lord Sri Sitaramachandra Swamy was celebrated a day prior to Mukkoti Ekadasi, in River Godavari here on Thursday amidst priests chanting the Vedic hymns.

People started converging onto the banks of the river earlier than 4.30 pm when the deities of Lord Rama, Goddess Sita and Lord Lakshmana were brought in a palanquin, with people playing devotional music, priests chanting Vedic hymns and others performing Kolatam, to the decorated swan-shaped float.

At 5.30 pm, special pujas, including Vishwaksena puja and Punyavachanam, were performed. A specially-prepared prasad has been offered to the deities. When the Sun lowered along the western horizon, at around 6.05 pm, the deities sailed in the river along with five teams amidst bursting of crackers. The embellished float with electric lamps offered a visual splendor to devotees who gathered on the river bank to watch the event.

The deities sailed in the river five times in a clock-wise direction even as the crackers lit up the Bhadrachalam skyline. Jamuna, wife of Finance Minister Eatala Rajender, Warangal Range IG Nagireddy, Bhadradri-Kothagudem District Collector Rajiv Gandhi Hanumanthu, Superintendent of Police Ambar Kishore Jha, Joint Collector M Ramkishan, Officer on Special Duty Ravinder, Assistant Superintendent of Police Sunil Dutt and B Ashok Kumar and Bhadrachalam temple Executive Officer Prabhakara Srinivas took part in the festival.