KALPETTA: Thousands of devotees paid respects to the departed souls on the banks of River Papanashini on the premises of Maha Vishnu Temple, Tirunelli, the jungle shrine located 40 kilometer off Mananthavadi in Wayanad district on Friday.
Known as the ‘Kashi of the South’, believers from Kozhikode, Kannur and Malappuram districts and parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu started pouring into the shine from Thursday afternoon itself.
Twelve priests led by chief priest Unnikrishnan Namboothiri helped devotees to propitiate their departed kith and kin. A majority of devotees camped at the temple premises since Thursday afternoon and the parking grounds at Kattikulam were full by Thursday evening. The rituals started from 3 am onwards and concluded by 3 pm on Friday.
Tirunelli temple executive officer TT Vinod told Deccan Chronicle that thousands paid obeisance to their forefathers without much disturbance as there were twelve counters for bali rituals instead of two last year.
More than 50,000 believers performed vavubali at Navamukunda Temple, Thirunavaya, according to Parameswaran Namboothiri, executive officer of the temple. Twelve priests helped them perform the bali on the banks of River Bharathappuzha.
Thousands also performed the bali rituals at Varakkal in Kozhikode, Ponkuzhy in Wayanad and Payyambalam, Kannur.
