THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: About 100 volunteers from the Sree Venkataramana temple, Mangaluru, will help do the lighting arrangements for the Lakshadeepam ceremony at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple on Wednesday, the Makara Sankranthi day. The volunteers reached the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple on Monday. “Along with the Dussehra celebrations, we have been doing the lakshadeepam for the past 12 years at the Sree Venkataramana temple, Mangalore.
The programme is sponsored by SVT MAT Friends, a Gowda Saraswat brahmins organisation based in Mangaluru, in association with a private firm from Bengaluru” said Ganesh Palika, former president of SVT MAT and c o nv e n e r o f t h e Lakshadeepam. Each glass that is used for rituals will have coloured water mixed with coconut oil and normal cotton wicks. “The oil lamps will be lit for three days beginning from Tuesday. Around 12,000 oil lamps are placed below the east, west and south gopurams (gates),” the convener said. Three new motorised revolving lamps modelled on giant wheel, globe and tree have been also placed below the east gate.
In addition to this, four new pillar designs, including two square and two round pillars were also newly added near the east gate. “It is of course a dream to do our work at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple and it is also the first time that we are coming out of our state to work in a different temple,” said the convener. All the lighting preparations were completed by Monday. Because of the huge crowd near the temple, the volunteers are forced to do all the arrangements during night.