The three-day 11th Kumbh Mela got off to a formal start with Sankalpa, Gana Homa and other rituals at a makeshift mantap at Triveni Sangam, the confluence of Rivers Cauvery and Kapila and Spatika Sarovara (mythical lake), at Tirumakudlu Narsipur on Sunday.
The priests from Rajarajeshwari temple in Bengaluru performed special homas. Adichunchanagiri branch seer Somanathananda Swami, Bengaluru Kailashrama Mutt seer Jayendra Saraswathi Puri, T Narasipur Kanakaguru Mutt’s Doreswami were present and took a holy dip.
The rituals and pujas were held at the Agastheshwara temple premises during the previous editions of Kumbh Mela. This time, they were performed at makeshift mantap at Triveni Sangam as the temple is under renovation.
The temple town of T Narasipur wore a festive look as pilgrims from Mandya, Mysuru, Hassan, Kodagu, Chamarajanagar, Bengaluru, adjoining Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh thronged the ghats to take a holy dip at Triveni Sangam.
Grand procession
The district administration and Kannada and Culture Department have organised a grand procession on Monday at 4 pm from the Srikshetra to T Narasipur town. The folk troupes like dollu kunitha, garudi gombe, tamate, veerabhadra kunitha, kamsale among others will add glitter to the festival.
Along with special homas a religious meeting will be held at 11 am, on the premises. Mahamandaleshwara Sangama Kshetra Pravesha by pontiffs and Utsav will be held at 4 pm. A Ganga puja, on the lines of ‘Ganga puja and Deepa Arathi’ in Varanasi, has been organised at 7 pm.
Food safety measures
In order to avert Sulvadi-like incident, the district administration has taken precautions on the food and prasada distribution during the festival. Food Safety Officers have been deployed at the venue to ensure the quality of foodgrains, pulses and vegetables used for food preparation. Vessels and water used for cooking and others are being checked.
Clearance is given for distribution only after tasting. The team is making all efforts to ensure everything goes well, said Dr S Chidambara, Officer-in-charge of Food Safety Measures in Kumbh Mela.
Food is being served at three places at JSS Sabha Bhavan, Adichunchanagiri Sabha Mantap, and another tent erected for the police personnel.
With the general elections just a couple of months away, the volunteers of SVEEP (Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation) are using the opportunity to create awareness about the importance of voting for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections among those visiting the taluk to take a holy dip in the confluence of three rivers.
With thousands expected to take part in the Mela at T Narasipur taluk, in the district, which is going to be held for three days, the volunteers hope that the awareness programme will definitely improve their voting participation.
Educative programmes are being streamed on LED screens.