The three-day annual ‘Ayilyam’ festival at the Sree Nagaraja temple at Mannarasala, Harippad, began on Monday. The festival commenced with the conferring of ‘Sree Nagaraja Puraskaram’ on Sadanam Vasudevan, T.V. Gopalakrishnan, Kalamandalam Sivan Namboothiri and Kalamandalam Suganthi. A ‘Maha Deepakazhcha’ was held in the evening.
‘Pooyam Thozhal’ will be held on Tuesday. On the Ayilyam day on Wednesday, the sanctum sanctorum of the temple will be opened at 4 a.m. ‘Mahaprasadamootu’ (mass meal) will begin at 10 a.m. Other rituals, including ayilyam pooja, noorumpaalum, sarppa bali, guruthi and thattil noorumpaalum, will be held. A large number of devotees from across the State are expected to witness the festival.
District Collector V.R. Krishna Teja has declared a public holiday for government offices and educational institutions in the district on November 16 in view of the Ayilyam festival.
