Vallasadya season to conclude at Aranmula

You don’t have any Active Subscription.

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

The season of Vallasadya, a unique ritualistic feast associated with the Onam festivities at the Aranmula Sree Parthasarathy Temple, will draw to a close on September 16, with 25 more feasts scheduled over the next three days.

According to the organisers, 10 Vallasadya are scheduled for September 14, eight on September 15 and seven on the concluding day. The Vallasadya and temple darshan programme organised by the KSRTC will also conclude on September 16.

As many as 577 Vallasadya were booked for this year, of which 20 have been deferred to next year for various reasons. So far, 520 have been held over 55 days. The feast could not be conducted on four days because of heavy rain and flooding.

More than 1.5 lakh people have attended the Vallasadya so far this year. The Ashtamirohini Vallasadya alone drew more than 50,000 people to the temple.

The ceremonies on the final day will begin at noon and will be inaugurated by Tourism and Culture Minister P. C. Vishnunadh. After the feast, the Palliyodams (snake boats) will begin returning around 2.30 p.m. The boats will then be hauled into the vallapura (boat house), where they will remain until the next Vallasadya season.

The organisers said next year’s Vallasadya season is expected to begin by mid-July.

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.