THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Navaratri celebrations at the Poojappura Saraswati temple will be marked by the traditional sangeetha vidyarambham, an initiation ritual into the world of music.
The music initiation will be held on September 30, the Vidyarambham day at 9.30 am. Veteran musician Poojappura Mohankumar will lead the ceremony. The customary vidyarambham ritual, to initiate children into the world of letters, will begin at 5.30 am. Other rituals on the day include a procession in which the idol of Lord Kumaraswami will be taken from Karamana to the mandapam.
Another unique feature of the festivities here include “Kanakasabha Darshanam”, a ritual held on all festival days at 8.30 pm. In this, priests carry the moola vigraham (original idol) of Goddess Saraswati from the temple sanctum sanctorum to the mandapam. After special poojas it will be taken back.
The annual kavadi procession to the temple will begin from Chenkalloor Sree Mahadeva temple at 10 am. Kavadi abhishekam ritual will be held at 1 pm. Pallivetta ritual and the return procession carrying the idol will be held at 4.15 pm.
The literary meetings as part of the festival will be named after legendary poets Ezhuthachan and Ilango Adigal. The Ezhuthachan session, to be led by Vilakkudi Rajendran and A M Unnikrishnan, will be held on September 29 at 3 pm. It will deal with the topic “spirituality, vision and literature”. Session on Ilango to be held on September 27 at 3 p.m. will be attended by poet P Narayana Kurup and writer M Nainar. The topic is “Sangam literature”. Daily rituals at the Saraswati temple include recitals of Harinamakeerthanam, Lalitha Sahasranamam, Devi Bhagavatham and Narayaneeyam. The temple will open at 5 am and 8 pm. Deeparadhana will be held at 6.30 am and 6.30 pm.
Cultural Programmes
September 23
3 pm: Poets meet, inauguration by Devan Pakalkuri
6 pm: Carnatic vocal by Balamani Eswar
9.15 pm: Dance drama “Panchathantram Kavu”
September 24
3 pm: Poetry festival led by Prof R Haridas
6 pm: Carnatic vocal by V Navaneet Krishnan
9.15 pm: Ganamela led by Ammu GV
September 25
3 pm: Bhagavad Gita meeting led by Prof Chenkal Sudhakaran
6 pm: Carnatic vocal by Nedumkunnam R Sreedev
9.15 pm: Nrithasandhya by Nitha Dileep
September 26
3 pm: Aksharasloka Sadassu
6 pm: Carnatic vocal by Koviladi R Madhwa Prasad
9.15 pm: Performance by Nrityati School of Dance
September 27
3 pm: Ilango meeting led by P Narayana Kurup
6 pm: Carnatic vocal by Akshay Padmanabhan
9.15 pm: “Old is Gold” ganamela
September 28
3 pm: Meeting on Indian epics led by TP Sankarankutty Nair
6 pm: Carnatic vocal by Thenkara Maharaj
9.15 pm: Performance by Noopura Dance Academy
September 29
3 pm: Ezhuthachan meeting led by Vilakkudy Rajendran
6 pm: Chennai V Sankaranarayanan
9.15 pm: Bharatanatyam bu Kerala Kalakshetra
September 30
4.30 pm: Classical dance by Babu Narayanan
6.30 pm: Carnatic vocal by Krishnendu Anoop
8.30 pm: Mega Ganamela by GK Harish Mani