Festive spirit reached a feverish pitch as people celebrated Dasara to mark the victory of good over evil across Prakasam district.
With COVID-19 in full retreat, devotees thronged goddess temples in large numbers to witness the grand ‘Kalaram’ processions.
All Shakti temples in the city, including the Rajarajeswari shrine at Lawyerpet, Saibaba temple, Durgadevi temple in Balajiraopeta, Mahishasuramardhini temple in Chennakesavapeta, Mahalakshmi temple near Kothapatnam bus stand and Rajarajeswari temple in Seetaramapuram, witnessed a flurry of religious activity. The goddess was decorated as Durgadevi on the Ashtami tithi on Sunday.
Continuing the cultural tradition, devotees carried tastefully decorated images of the goddess in grand processions, starting with the one from the Ankathammathalli temple near the Yenuga Chettu (a tree resembling an elephant’s leg) to please ‘Ammavaru’, who, according to legend, had annihilated the buffalo-headed demon ‘Mahishasura‘. They burst crackers and shook their legs to the rhythm of drum beats.
Local talent came to the fore during the music and dance programmes organised in temples. “We are in good demand in temples organising cultural programmes,” said a orator Venkata Murali Krishna after narrating the Mahishasura Mardini episode at the Santhapeta Sai Baba temple here, where ‘Kanakabhishegam‘ with golden lotuses was performed to the spiritual guru on the occasion.
Markets were a chock-a-block in Ongole and other places in Prakasam district, with people loosening their purse strings on the occasion. Many shops and malls offered discounts to woo buyers of white goods. Dasara is the time when people also bought new vehicles, including commercial ones and use them after performing ‘Ayudha Pooja’.
