Sea of Devotees for Ganga Jatara at Tataiahgunta Temple

TIRUPATI: A huge swarm of devotees was present here on Tuesday as the annual Ganga Jatara reached its grand finale at the Tataiahgunta Gangamma temple and various Gangamma shrines across the city.

Devotees from different parts of Rayalaseema, and from neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, arrived in large numbers to take part in the centuries-old folk festival dedicated to Goddess Gangamma. The temple surroundings remained packed from the early hours as devotees stood in long queues to offer prayers and perform traditional rituals.

Devotees offered ‘Pongallu’ to the Goddess, believing that worshipping Gangamma during the Jatara would bring prosperity, protection and good fortune to their families. The presiding deity was adorned in a special ‘Alankaram’, drawing thousands of devotees for darshan throughout the day.

The seven-day folk festival began on May 5 with the traditional ‘Chatimpu’ and continued with various ‘Veshams’ observed by devotees on successive days. Tuesday marked the final and most significant day of the celebrations. After the government declared Tirupati Ganga Jatara as a state festival, the annual event has been witnessing increasing participation every year.

Apart from the main temple, all Gangamma temples across Tirupati witnessed heavy footfalls. Several devotees visited the shrines dressed in traditional ‘Perantallu’ attire as part of local customs associated with the festival. ‘Ragi Ambali’ was distributed to devotees at several locations, continuing a long-standing practice linked to the Jatara celebrations.

Heavy traffic congestion was witnessed around the Tataiahgunta temple area throughout the day due to the continuous arrival of devotees. Police personnel and temple staff and volunteers faced a tough task in regulating crowds and maintaining traffic movement, especially during the evening hours when the rush increased further.

As part of the concluding rituals, a clay idol known as ‘Viswaroopam’ will be installed in front of the temple after midnight on Tuesday. According to tradition, a member of the Kaikala community dressed as ‘Perantallu’ will perform the ritual called ‘Chempa Tholagimpu’ by removing the cheek portion of the idol. The remaining clay from the idol will later be distributed among devotees, who believe it possesses healing powers.

Meanwhile, the Nadiveedi Gangamma Jatara commenced in Chittoor on Tuesday. Hereditary trustee and former MLA CK Babu’s family members performed the inaugural rituals. Local MLA Gurajala Jagan Mohan and his wife also took part in the first puja. Devotees gathered in large numbers to fulfil vows and offer Pongallu at the Jatara, which will continue for two days.