The annual Niraputhari festival was celebrated with traditional fervour at Sabarimala on Monday.
The ritual began at 5.30 a.m. with the offering of fresh paddy spikes, sourced from a paddy field on the hilltop. Under the guidance of Tantri Kandararu Mahesh Mohanararu, Melsanthi V.K. Jayaraj Potti took the paddy spikes to the Namaskara Mandapam sanctorum for performing the rituals.
The paddy spikes were then taken out in a ceremonial procession to the sanctum sanctorum and following the puja, they were distributed as prasadom among devotees. N. Vasu, Travancore Devaswom Board president, and TDB member P.M. Thankappan were present.
