The Yoga Narasimhaswamy temple in the city will distribute two lakh laddus to mark New Year on January 1 in continuation of its tradition started almost 40 years ago.
The temple authorities told media persons here on Wednesday that the practice of distributing ladoos was initiated in 1994 by Bhashyam Swami and has continued without a break since then.
In all, 60 expert confectioners specialising in making traditional sweets have been roped in and are working round the clock under hygienic conditions to meet the target of preparing two lakh laddus, said S. Srinivasan, administrative officer of the temple located in Vijayanagar. The work on preparing the sweet began on December 20 and will conclude on December 31, he added.
While 15000 laddus will be of two kg weight and will be massive in size, the remaining will weigh 150 gm and will be distributed to the devotees who visit the temple on January 1, 2024.
The ingredients used in their preparations include 100 quintals of gram flour, 500 kg cashew nuts, 500 kg badam, 1000 kg of diamond sugar, 10,000 litres of edible oil 2000 kg boora sugar, 500 kg of raisin, 500 kg of pistachio, 50 kg ‘’jakai and japatre’’, 50 kg of edible camphor or ‘’pacche karpura’’, clove etc. The temple authorities said that the taste will be similar to the Tirpuati laddus and will be distributed to every visitor to the temple.
On January 1, the temple will open at 4 a.m. for special rituals and pujas that will be conducted by the priests who will pray for the peace and welfare of the society. The main deity will be decorated with special flowers procured from Srirangam, Madurai and the priests will perform ‘’Sahasranama archane’’ to mark the occasion.
When the tradition was initiated in 1994, 1000 laddus were distributed and this grew over the years and two lakh ladoos are being distributed since the last few years.
Though the State government has not imposed any restrictions or curbs in the wake of emergence of COVID-19, it would be in the collective interest of all for the visitors to wear masks while visiting the temple, said the authorities.
