With the curtains ringing down on elections, Nanganallurvasis had a rendezvous with our celestial neighbour, the Moon. The special occasion was Chitra Pournami (Full Moon in the month of Chithirai). This suburb, which abounds in temples, had organised cultural events. With the ritualistic pooja in the morning, many temples had organised spiritual discourses and music mela in the evening.
Since Chitra Pournami fell on a Sunday, children and elders had a blast.
In Karumariamman temple in Thillai Ganga Nagar, the presiding deity Karumariamman was given a holy bath with milk - 108 pal kudams (milk vessel) which was carried from another temple amidst chanting of slokas and rendering of songs. After the pooja, the icon of Shakthi was beautifully decorated with exquisite jewellery and flowers.
In Guruvayoorappan temple, the week-long celebration reached a crescendo when the temple was illuminated with ghee lamps. The temple was glowing with dazzling deepam. The ‘Bhagavathy Seva’ was performed for the goddess as well.
In Navaneetha Krishna Lakshmi Narasimha temple, MMTC Colony, Chitra Pournami was observed with great devotion. The abishekam to the lord was performed almost every day for a week. The crowd waited patiently to seek the grace of Lord Narasimha.
Panakam (jaggery water) and neer more (buttermilk) were distributed. The lord, seated effulgently on Garuda Vahana, shone like a thousand suns.
In Rajarajeswari temple, Ambal Rajarajeswari, flashing a bewitching smile, looked radiant in stone-studded jewellery.
With the spiritual part of it being over, many of the locals had an enjoyable Moon-lit dinner. People, irrespective of age, adore ‘nila sappadu’.
With no electricity around, the Moon radiated her cool, silvery rays bathing everyone in her radiance which enhanced the Moonlight dinner.
Many who could not make it to the beach to eat by the moonlight to the swishing of the waves, dined in Moon-lit terraces. Taking a break from the usual routine, women prepared ‘variety rice’ with vadam and appalam which stirred the appetite. Coconut rice, which was as bright as the Moon itself, tasted ethereal with vadam and appalam. In some houses, avial was prepared and the aroma of coconut oil liberally poured over the avial wafted in the air. It tasted like Perumal koil puliyodarai, remarked my friend when he gorged on the tamarind rice which was garnished with fried cashews and groundnut.
The mouth-watering dried roundels (vadam) when fried surpasses description and taste. The sweltering summer was forgotten with soothing moonlight and lipsmacking delicacies. It was like manna from heaven, declared a college student who is enjoying her holidays. We were soaked for long in the moonlight ambience and Chitra Pournami was full of joi de vivre. Many families had gathered in ‘mottai maadis’ to share the dinner and exchange the food. It was not only food but also ideas thoughts and feelings that were exchanged with the Moon witnessing and flashing a benevolent smile to bathe mankind in her cool rays. We were seduced by the divine ambience and the extravagant dinner, quipped Madhu who ate to her heart’s content. The aromatic food blended with the Milky Way to create a diversity of visuals. It was a People’s Night Out in the true sense of the word.
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