TIRUCHY: Aadi Perukku passed off without water in the Cauvery after nine years on Monday (August 3), and the public, particularly the newlyweds, conducted rituals in the dry Cauvery in the traditional Amma Mandapam bathing ghat in Srirangam and took a holy bath in the makeshift shower arrangements made by the Tiruchy Civic administration.
Aadi Perukku, the auspicious festival conducted for venerating the mother Cauvery, which is believed to bring joy and prosperity to the newly wed couple as well as the farmers.
This year, the mother Cauvery appeared parched, where the people who had to skip the sentimental holy dip but had to take a shower through the temporary arrangements made by the civic body, and there was less than 50 per cent footfall compared to last year.
As part of the traditional Aadi Perukku event Mangal-sutra of newlywed brides shall be replaced with another by a senior married woman member of the family, with prayers to the deity Cauvery to strengthen the family bonding among them.
Following the event of replacing mangalyam, the newlywed couples are asked to drift their wedding garland on the river Cauvery to take the blessings from their ancestors.
Pujas used to be performed at the Amma Mandapam venue since the place is believed to be the blessing of Srirangam Ranganathar, so doing such poojas in the place shall allow the people to have all the blessings.
With this traditional background, the people, unwilling to skip the customary celebrations, thronged to the traditional Amma Mandapam bathing ghat in Srirangam, where the city corporation had made a makeshift shower pipe and artificial streams were made to allow the people to conduct their rituals.
Though it is customary to thank Mother Cauvery for its full flow of water that would bring prosperity, a section of devotees had placed their offerings on the parched Cauvery and performed their rituals, while a few devotees had dug a pit in the Cauvery river bed and used the water for their rituals.
“The Cauvery was dry in 2017, previously during the Aadi Perukku and the situation repeated this year after nine long years. But still, the festival mood lingers among the devotees who realise their rituals with the available arrangements,” said S Vijayakumar, a resident of Srirangam.
Similarly, the people living along the Cauvery across the Delta region fulfilled their rituals in the available water bodies, including tanks and wells belonging to the temples in their respective districts.