Heavy rush at Guruvayur temple

By Our Staff Reporter

GURUVAYUR, NOV. 20. There is a heavy rush of devotees and Sabarimala pilgrims at the Sree Krishna Temple here as the 15-day long Chembai Music Festival in connection with the Ekadasi festival entered the ninth day today.

The temple town is all geared up to receive the flow of pilgrims which is expected to reach its peak on Ekadasi on November 26.

The Chembai Music Festival which used to be a 12-day event was extended to 15 days this year and a special music concert of two- hour duration was added to the whole list of programmes. The festival provides a rare opportunity where Carnatic music lovers could listen to concerts of maestros as well as budding artistes from the same stage. Their age may range from eight to 80.

The Guruvayur Devaswom which received 6,000 applications for appearing in the music festival invited only 2,800 of them. Every day an average of 200 artistes have been performing at the festival, which is held from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. and for two hours from 7-30 p.m. on the last 10 days.

The musicians, hailing from in and outside the State, are being felicitated by the devaswom with a laminated photo of Lord Guruvayurappan and `prasadam'. The graded artistes of All India Radio are being provided free boarding and lodging.

The Chairman of the Guruvayur Devaswom, Mr. M. Venugopala Kurup, said the devaswom expected over one lakh devotees this Ekadasi season. The devaswom has made all arrangements to meet the rush of devotees. There will be a special system for rush management.

Excess staff has been deployed on a daily-wages basis. The number of security personnel has also been increased. But the devaswom is facing a shortage of water. The Kerala Water Authority is supplying water only to the Sree Valsam Guest House and the temple. The devaswom is now meeting the need by renting the wells in the nearby areas, he said.

Meanwhile, the shops in the temple town are all cashing in on the heavy flow of pilgrims. The long umbrellas (`kalan kuda' in local parlance) and green belts are a big hit with the devotees. The Sabarimala pilgrims, especially from other States, have a fancy for these articles because of their low price.

Owner of a shop selling traditional lamps said that the business has been dull this season. However, another shop owner said the business would pick up by the first week of December.

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Section  : Southern States
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