THRISSUR: In view of the huge rush for ‘thulabharam’ and ‘choroonu’ ceremonies at the Sree Krishna temple in Guruvayur, the devaswom management committee has decided to shift both the ceremonies outside the temple. However, a group of people have come out against the move pointing out that it would be against the customs of the temple.
After the easing of the pandemic restrictions, the Guruvayur temple has been witnessing a large number of devotees each day, especially for ceremonies like wedding, ‘thulabharam’ and ‘choroonu’. Some days, more than 1,000 ‘choroonu’ functions happens there creating chaos inside the temple. Hence, the devaswom management committee on Saturday decided to take steps to manage the rush inside the temple and suggestions were sought from the people concerned.
“After discussions with the tanthri, the decision was taken to shift the ‘thulabharam’ and ‘choroonu’ ceremonies outside the temple. The intention behind the move is to provide better facilities to the people,” said Guruvayur Devaswom chairman V K Vijayan.
BJP leader B Gopalakrishnan issued a statement saying the decision is against the interests of the temple and its devotees. “The business-oriented mind of the devaswom has led to such a decision. It will be dealt with strong protests,” he said.
‘Thulabharam’ and ‘choroonu’ are devotees’ offerings to Sree Krishna and it is important for the devotees to hold the ceremonies in an atmosphere of purity inside the temple, he added. The devaswom chairman pointed out that even the marriage ceremony was earlier conducted inside the temple but later it was shifted outside considering the convenience of devotees.
According to the devaswom report, the temple received an income of Rs 6.57 crore in May, the highest in the recent past, indicating the huge rush of devotees.