MADURAI, INDIA, April 21, 2016 (The Hindu): Exquisitely decorated temple cars of Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple here waded through a sea of people along the Masi Streets on the penultimate day of the annual Chithirai festival on Wednesday. The Deities – Lord Sundareswarar with Piriyavidai and Goddess Meenakshi – ascended the respective cars before sunrise and devotees started to pull the marvellous showcases of native art and craft by 6 a.m.
In the past, it took a long time, sometimes a week, for people to pull the cars from their base on East Masi Street and back. This is said to be one of the reasons for King Thirumalai Nayak to telescope the Saivite and Vaishnavite festivals into one Chithiral festival for the historic city. The remodeled cars, with hydraulic brakes, now take only a few hours to ambulate the Masi Streets. A seasoned temple employee guided the devotees in pulling the car through shouts of “Hara Hara Sankara, Meenakshi Sundara.”
People occupied every bit of space available on the streets, footpath and in buildings on the flanks. Service organisations and devotees offered drinking water, buttermilk and juices for those who walked along with the cars. Police personnel posted all along the route ensured that the cars reached their destination without any hiccup and there was no instance of crime.
Good photos at “source” of the event.