Religious fervour marked the beginning of Karthika Masam in Kurnool and Anantapur districts with people making a beeline for the Siva temples before dawn and some even bursting crackers.
All temples were tastefully decorated and in the post-pandemic scenario people dressed in their best, came wearing face masks.
At Srisailam, performing puja or ‘darshan’ of the presiding deities Bhramarambha and Mallikarjuna Swamy has been special this year in Karthika Masam with COVID-19 protocols being implemented stringently. ‘Karthika Deeparadhana’ is the special attraction at the temple and women did not miss the opportunity to perform the ritual at a specially allocated place.
Temple Executive Officer Karanam S. Rama Rao told The Hindu that while the ‘darshan’ was provided with prior booking of the slots, temple premises was open from 5.30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and again from 5.30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Special arrangements were made for the Karthika Deeparchana and rituals related to the Karthika Masam at Nagulakatta and Gangadhara Mandapam opposite Krishnadevaraya Gopuram on the temple premises. Social distancing was strictly observed with temple employees specially tasked with this duty to ensure none suffered in the queue lines.
Annaprasadam
Milk was provided to the needy devotees and ‘annaprasadam’ was served from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the footfall on Monday was more than the average in the post-COVID time in the past two months.
The laddu ‘prasadam’ is also being sold at nine counters in view of the large number of devotees converging on the temple.
