Tiruvannamalai all set for annual grand spectacle Maha Deepam

TIRUVANNAMALAI: With just a day left for the Maha Deepam to be lit atop the 2,668-foot-high Annamalai Hill, the preparations for the festival have reached a feverish pitch in the district. The huge cauldron in which the deepam will be lit will be carried to the hilltop on Saturday.

The five-foot giant cauldron was cleaned and kept ready on Friday. Temple workers would carry the cauldron along with the one km-long gadda cloth, which becomes the wick, and five tonnes of ghee, which is used as fuel, to the hill top on Saturday.

With the areas around the temple and the town receiving continuous rain, temple officials have cautioned the workers to be extra careful while carrying the loads to the hill top as the soil may be slushy and the rocks slippery.

“The cauldron will be carried by the traditional ‘deepa nattars,’ who will start their trek after the usual poojas early on Saturday and climb up using the steps to reach the ‘mulai paal theeertham,’ located at a height of around 300 feet. They will rest there for about an hour, have breakfast, and then check the ropes holding the cauldron in place between two casuarina poles. After this, they will resume the trek to reach the summit around 9 am. They will use stay wires to ensure that the cauldron remains static even in squally weather,” officials said.

The Bharani deepam will be lit inside the Arulmigu Arunachleswarar Temple at 4 am and the Maha Deepam on the hill at 6 pm after the cynosure shifts to the 14 km-long giri valam.