CHENNAI: The four 'mada' lanes surrounding the Kapaleeswarar Temple in Mylapore is alight with festive colours, as the annual Panguni Peruvizha, the most important festival of the Saivite shrine, is underway.
On the fifth day, on Friday, the presiding deity, Lord Kapali (Lord Shiva) and his consort, Goddess Karpagambal, seated on well decorated vahanams (carrier), were taken along the four mada streets at precisely 10.30 pm. They were accompanied by Lord Ganesha and Lord Murugan. With hundreds of devotees lined up on both sides, and continuous Vedic chants by priests, the procession of deities is scheduled to return to the temple only in the early hours of Saturday morning.
For the 10-day festival, expected to be attended by over a lakh visitors, hectic preparations have been undertaken. "About 15 CCTV cameras, worth more than 3 lakh rupees, have been installed both inside and outside the temple complex. A makeshift police control room has also been set up, with a huge contingent of policemen to patrol the crowd. Adequate drinking water provisions have been made," said D Kaveri, executive officer of the temple.
The highlight of the festival will be the car procession on Sunday and that of (63 nayanmars - saivite saints) Arupathumoovar on Monday.