Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Avani Festival @ Madurai Meenakshi Temple

2/9/2011: We visited the temple once again on the afternoon of the second. We were extremely fortunate that we accidentally chanced on the occasion of the Avani Festival - the Utsava Murthy's (Festival Idols) of the various deities ready to embark on a procession around the temple as part of the Avani Festival celebrations. See photos below:

1. A colorfully decorated cow with dholak 2.Silver elephant on palanquin 3.The Temple Elephant-colorfully attired 4.Goddess Meenakshi & Lord Sunderaswarar in Golden Palanquin 5.Goddess Meenakshi - magnificently attired 6.Lord Muruga atop his favorite vehicle - peacock 7.Lord Ganesha atop his vehicle - a rat 8.The procession begins: Led by the temple elephant followed by other vehicles.
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49 comments:

  1. anilkurup59November 29, 2011 at 4:42:00 AM PST

    Rituals are often performed mechanically , the spirit and the essence are lost.More often we forget the essence in rituals too.

    I have heard about this festival when on a visit to the temple. I guess there is also a Temple car festival!

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  2. RamakrishnanNovember 29, 2011 at 5:05:00 AM PST

    @ Anilkurup: Absolutely right. For the priests its just a job/duty performed mechanically without true dedication-more interested in maximizing their income ! The Annual Brahmotsavan Festival is celebrated during the month of Chittirai(Aries).The eighth day of the Chittirai festival witnesses the coronation of Meenakshi and procession on silver thrones, while the 9th day is the digvijaya festival. The 10th day (Chitra Purnima) marks the wedding of Meenakshi and Sundareswarar.
    The Ther (Chariot) festival is celebrated on the 11th day of the annual festival.

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  3. Kim@stuffcould....November 29, 2011 at 5:47:00 AM PST

    I see some beautiful animals....etc. Rituals are always interesting

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  4. SandhyaNovember 29, 2011 at 6:06:00 AM PST

    Nice pictures. The utsava moorthies look beautiful! Our temple festivals are always colourful! I love the elephants always, whether they are at the temples or in the wild!

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  5. Kim, USANovember 29, 2011 at 8:47:00 AM PST

    Wow it's colorful and very interesting custom and tradition. ^_^ Happy Tuesday!

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  6. LowellNovember 29, 2011 at 12:12:00 PM PST

    I've seen many religious ceremonies but nothing like this. Amazing! And so colorful. Can't imagine those huge animals parading around in one of our "temples." :-)

    Thank you very much for your kind comments and good wishes!

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  7. Rhapsody PhoenixNovember 29, 2011 at 3:40:00 PM PST

    hmmmmmmm..............
    thanks for the insight, like all things many get lost in the evolution of time and what once was meaningful gets devalued and become a prefunctionary measure.

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  8. TeamgsquareNovember 29, 2011 at 6:32:00 PM PST

    Thanks for the festival tour .
    Its really grand .

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  9. R Niranjan DasNovember 29, 2011 at 8:51:00 PM PST

    Lovely colours. Thanks for sharing the beautiful festival.

    www.rajniranjandas.blogspot.com

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  10. RenuNovember 29, 2011 at 9:02:00 PM PST

    Rituals may be performed mechanically, but still I like them and want them to continue..

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  11. Saru SinghalNovember 29, 2011 at 9:11:00 PM PST

    The visuals are treat for someone who is away from country, thanks for sharing!

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  12. RamakrishnanNovember 29, 2011 at 11:28:00 PM PST

    @Renu: Of course we definitely want the rituals to continue because of the strong belief,faith & devotion of the people. Look what happens in Tirupati - they keep pushing the devotees around shouting "Jaragandi" rather rudely & offensively - but devotee's faith is only getting stronger by the day !

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  13. GemelNovember 30, 2011 at 1:54:00 AM PST

    Oh the elephants are so beautiful.
    Such gentle energy they emit.
    One day would love to be close enough to pat one, to feel the love they radiate.

    So many festivals you have, I adore the armchair tour very much.

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  14. ArunNovember 30, 2011 at 3:20:00 AM PST

    Madurai Meenakshi temple is always a delight to visit.. And to catch the festive occasions like this is a real treat!

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  15. RuprekhaNovember 30, 2011 at 7:05:00 AM PST

    So rich and colourful temple festival! The temples and their rituals are so simple here in this part of the country where I live.
    Nice pictures. Love to visit your space, very informative.

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  16. AnonymousNovember 30, 2011 at 7:12:00 AM PST

    Interesting that animals seem to play such an important role in your religion, unlike Christianity. There is so much to know about India!

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  17. RajeshNovember 30, 2011 at 10:05:00 AM PST

    Wonderful images of the rituals.

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  18. MaRNovember 30, 2011 at 10:27:00 AM PST

    Beautiful festival and colorful shots! a delightful post.

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  19. BarbNovember 30, 2011 at 4:53:00 PM PST

    The animals look regal in their attire, ready to march in the ritual. Are crowds of people on hand to watch?

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  20. RamakrishnanNovember 30, 2011 at 7:09:00 PM PST

    @Barb: Yes there are are crowds of people generally around. The temple elephants are used to this.People are allowed to feed them bananas, rice,sugar cane, jaggery,bananas. People also take blessings from the elephant(placing the snout of the trunk on peoples heads)and in return receive money which they dutifully pass on to the mahout or keeper.

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  21. UrmiNovember 30, 2011 at 7:29:00 PM PST

    Though I have visited Meenakshi Temple several times as I did M.A. (Advt& PR) so I stayed at Madurai for 2 years. I have never attended Avani festival. Thanks a lot for sharing beautiful pictures alongwith lovely description. Very informative post.
    I love to cook variety of dishes so I post new recipes and thank you very much for your encouraging comments.

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  22. ashokNovember 30, 2011 at 11:17:00 PM PST

    The 'Boom boom' cow , the temple elephants, the temple camels...add so much life to the place...wonderful to see this post!

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  23. chitraDecember 1, 2011 at 12:07:00 AM PST

    Nice pictures..

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  24. RamakrishnanDecember 1, 2011 at 12:35:00 AM PST

    @Ashok: Didn't know there were camels too. Will look out for them next visit.

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  25. MoDecember 1, 2011 at 2:27:00 AM PST

    Very colourful

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  26. IndraniDecember 1, 2011 at 5:12:00 AM PST

    Lovely presentation with pictures.

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  27. Prathima RaoDecember 1, 2011 at 7:18:00 AM PST

    Awesome pics of the rituals..It is always interesting to know & learn of diff rituals..Thank u for dropping by my space Mr. Ramakrishnan and for your lovely comments..And now I got to know of your wonderful site..Will keep dropping my often. ;)
    Prathima Rao
    Prats Corner

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  28. ShreyaDecember 1, 2011 at 8:16:00 AM PST

    Lovely pictures, rituals are always part of belief and culture. They are always a source of hope and energy. :)

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  29. MartinaDecember 1, 2011 at 10:00:00 AM PST

    Wonderful pictures! I love how elephants get dressed and bejeweled in Indis, like fairy tale animals, celebrating this miraculous world!

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  30. CameraCruiseDecember 1, 2011 at 10:49:00 AM PST

    Beautiful images of the festival.

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  31. Sushma MallyaDecember 1, 2011 at 11:34:00 AM PST

    Beautifully captured photos..... all the pictures looks so divine with all those rituals being performed.

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  32. Sobha ShyamDecember 1, 2011 at 12:46:00 PM PST

    Very beautiful clicks, a virtual treat of the rituals in the famous Madurai Meenakshi temple. Happy that you dropped at my space and appreciate your comments Sir.

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  33. Maryam MaquillageDecember 1, 2011 at 3:16:00 PM PST

    wow those elephants are dressed better than me haha :))

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  34. TexWisGirlDecember 1, 2011 at 4:27:00 PM PST

    so very ornate!

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  35. MridulaDecember 1, 2011 at 11:18:00 PM PST

    So beautiful and colorful!

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  36. Anupama K. MazumderDecember 2, 2011 at 1:19:00 AM PST

    Mighty good camera, that.

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  37. Sujatha SathyaDecember 2, 2011 at 1:59:00 AM PST

    nice walk through through a traditional village temple ritual

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  38. Jayanthy KumaranDecember 2, 2011 at 3:46:00 AM PST

    very interesting post...divine cliks..:)
    thanks for stopping by my space n inspiring feedback..!
    Tasty Appetite

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  39. P.N. SubramanianDecember 2, 2011 at 3:50:00 AM PST

    Lovely pictures of the festival.

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  40. CarverDecember 2, 2011 at 7:33:00 PM PST

    Great shots from the festival.

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  41. magdaDecember 3, 2011 at 2:42:00 AM PST

    It's great to know the traditions of each place, through the wonderful colorful images you!!!!
    many greetings and a very nice weekend!

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  42. AnishaDecember 3, 2011 at 4:11:00 AM PST

    This is great... I've been to Meenakshi temple but never knew about the festival.

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  43. Phivos NicolaidesDecember 3, 2011 at 6:02:00 AM PST

    What a rich culture full of interesting traditions!!!

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  44. eye in the skyDecember 3, 2011 at 7:29:00 AM PST

    Some of the best experiences come from the unplanned activities - such as this one. Everything looks so festive. :)

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  45. BhushavaliDecember 3, 2011 at 7:59:00 AM PST

    Great shots... Wonderfully captured the essence of the day!!!
    Roaming-About in Style
    Insect Watch - Hammerhead Worm

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  46. magiceyeDecember 3, 2011 at 8:52:00 AM PST

    brilliant series!!

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  47. Pietro BrosioDecember 3, 2011 at 9:41:00 AM PST

    Really interesting religious ceremonies, wonderful sequence of pictures.
    Happy Sunday!

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  48. FriedaDecember 7, 2011 at 1:45:00 PM PST

    Such an interesting post. I get a glimpse to a completely different world and I like it.

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  49. Sushma MallyaDecember 9, 2011 at 12:10:00 PM PST

    Thanks a lot for the bundle of adjectives at my space ....much appreciated...and v happy to c and read it!

    ReplyDelete

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