Deepam festival horse shandy begins in Tiruvannamalai

Though there is no clear picture about the history of the shandy, it could be traced back to at least four centuries, said officials. “Minor kings and chieftains during their visit to Tiruvannamalai for the Deepam festival use the opportunity to purchase horses. The animals will be brought from different parts of the state and even from neighbouring states like Karnataka,” they said.

It is also said that the Tiruvannamalai horse shandy is the second biggest after Andhiyur in Erode, said sources. While around 50 horses arrived on Tuesday, more animals were expected to come on Wednesday.

“This year, horses from Hosur, Tirupattur, Erode, Pudukkottai and Karnataka have arrived so far,” officials said.

“Bringing animals to the shandy during the annual Deepam festival is treated as an act of worship as this practice is in vogue for several decades as far as I know,” said Rajasekar from Hosur.

The process of bargain at Tiruvannamalai was similar to the practice followed in other livestock shandies across the state, he said. Explaining the process, Rajasekar said, the hands of the seller and buyer would be covered with a cloth. Prices would be negotiated in a system, where the buyer would ask for the price by touching the fingers of the seller. This would be done to ensure that the price was known only to the buyer and seller, he added.

As per tradition, the shandy would start on the seventh day of the festival, when five cars of the temple would be taken around the four Mada streets. From then on, the shandy would continue till the conclusion of the festival, that is the day on which Bharani Deepam and Maha Deepam would be lit. This year the last day of the festival would be on November 23.

The sellers have been allowed to use the empty space in front of the Tiruvannamalai Government Arts College. “This year, too, the municipality has waived the fee for the use of the ground aimed to preserving the practice,” officials added.