Date:02/01/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/01/02/stories/2008010250690200.htm

Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi

Perfect and pious start to 2008

Staff Reporter

Hotels welcome New Year with glitz and glamour in Tiruchi

TIRUCHI: Balmy morning gave a perfect start of the year for Tiruchiites, as many queued up the religious places at the sign dawn to usher in the New Year with fervour.

While hotels welcomed the New Year with glitz and glamour, the major crowd puller was, however, places of worship. Over 5,000 devotees of all denominations gathered for high mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral, conducted by the Bishop of Tiruchi Diocese Antony Devotta. “The crowd kept swelling from 11.00 p.m. last night. Prayers preceded the high mass,” said the Secretary of Parish Council, St. Mary’s Cathedral, Joseph Cells.

Temples including Lord Ranganathaswamy, Srirangam, Sri Akilandeshwari, Tiruvanaikaval, Manikka Vinayakar, Malaikottai, and Sri Iyyappa temple were flooded with devotees till the afternoon. Many temples orchestrated long queues to manage the inflow of visitors.

The bedecked ball rooms of hotels witnessed quite a number of non-Tiruchiite population. At Breeze Residency, dance-music troupe from Chennai entertained visitors, while Hotel Sangam had a brief magic show to set off the celebrations. Elaborate fare was the order of the day at the bistros, with continental dishes ruling the spread.

Kids greeted New Year with revelry on roads by bursting crackers as the clock struck 12. Well-adorned commercial complexes, too, spread the cheer of the New Year with attractive sales.