Chithirai car fest held after 100 years at Kayathar temple

The Chithirai Car festival was celebrated, after more than 100 years, at the Akilanteswari Kothandaraman Temple at Kayathar near Kovilpatti in Thoothukudi district, on Friday. The temple car of Sri Akilanteswari Kothandaraman Temple was badly damaged more than a century ago. 

As the authorities could not mobilise funds to conduct the festival, the car could not be repaired. Hence the suspension of the Car festival for more than 100 years. The people of Kayathar decided to do something about it and went ahead to collect funds to construct a new temple car. 

They, along with the temple committee, decided to construct the new car at their own expense and also conduct the temple festival in a grand manner. As planned they collected the required sum of Rs 30 lakh and built a new car for the temple.  

As the works neared completion, residents of Kayathar felt it was a dream come true. They felt the juggernaut could roll out on the important streets of their town. On the first day of the Tamil month of Chithirai, the temple authorities and residents went ahead and the new car at last was rolled out. 

Thousands of devotees from Kovilpatti and nearby towns and villages gathered in large numbers to witness the spectacle. People, who participated in the Chithirai Tiruvizha, pulled the car which was taken through several important streets of Kayathar and then brought back to the temple.