NAGAPATTINAM: A temple festival in Pazhankallimedu village near Vedaranyam was cancelled for the fourth consecutive year after caste Hindus did not agree to provide Mandaga Padi to Scheduled Caste communities.
The 800-year-old Aadi festival was cancelled in Shri Badrakaliamman temple by the Nagapattinam district administration. “Two cases are pending in Madras High Court based on petitions filed by the two communities. We conducted a meeting on July 15 but a compromise could not be reached. None of the two parties had withdrawn their petitions from the court till Sunday. So, Aadi festival customs will not be conducted in favour of anybody until Thursday. Only the main event of the general festival will be conducted as usual,” said a revenue official from Vedaranyam.
Mandaga Padi is the custom of taking charge of the pooja in the sanctum sanctorum, sponsoring the showering (Abhishekham) for the deity.
Scheduled Castes in the village have been demanding Mandaga Padi since 2015. However, caste Hindu communities have resisted the demand. Talks have been held every year from 2016 to reachh a compromise, but to no effect. “All we wanted is Mandaga Padi for one of the three days.
Our case is still pending in court. We are not going to change our decision until the court decides. We are fine with the festival being celebrated generally on Friday alone,” said N Pakkirisamy, an SC community representative from Pazhankallimedu. Caste Hindus also refused to stage a deity procession through streets where Scheduled Castes reside in the village. The district administration has warned of strict action against those who cause disrupt law and order in the coming week.