Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments P.K. Sekarbabu said major Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu would celebrate Mahashivarathri in a grand manner with devotional discourses, ‘mangala isai’ and dance programmes. Temples would also be colourfully lit on the occasion.
“We have instructed temples to hold such programmes wherever possible. These will be apart from the regular all-night rituals that will be held as part of the festival. Temples will ensure provision of drinking water, toilets and security to devotees,” he added.
Artists registered with the Art and Culture Department will be roped in to perform at the events. “They have been without any employment owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is an attempt to help them in a small way. The artists would be paid by the temples, which in turn would take funds from sponsors,” he said.
In the city, the Kapaleeswarar temple in Mylapore and the Thyagarajaswamy temple at Tiruvottiyur will celebrate the festival in a grand manner with night-long events. At Mylapore, 72 grounds that were recently retrieved by the temple would be used for the purpose. Devotees will be given free Gangajal and certain publications free of cost. They can also purchase ‘prasadam’ of various temples and temple publications at the venue.
At Tiruvottiyur, the vast open spaces around the temple would be utilised for the events that will begin with ‘mangala isai’.
