The much-celebrated Aani car festival of Swami Nellaiyappar Gandhimathi Ambal Temple here, which would attract thousands of devotees every year, began on ominous note as three ropes of the car got snapped when the car was drawn at 7.18 a.m. on Friday, June 21, 2024.
As part of the Aani festival, the foremost celebration of Swami Nellaiyappar Gandhimathi Ambal, the cars of Swami Nellaiyappar, Gandhimathi Ambal, Vinayagar and Subramaniyar would be drawn along the four car streets around the 2000-year-old shrine during the Tamil month ‘Aani’ every year. The cars would reach the station on the same day with thousands of devotees drawing the cars, especially the imposing Swami Nellaiyappar car, the third largest wooden car of Tamil Nadu after Thiruvarur and Srivilliputhur temple cars, which was made in the year 1505 CE.
One of the ropes of the temple car that snapped. | Photo Credit: N. Rajesh
Even though the car was made with 13 decks, it was later reduced to 9 decks 25 years ago as the devotees struggled a lot while turning the car in the sharp curves of the car streets. Later again, it was reduced to 5 decks.
After District Collector K.P. Karthikeyan, Mayor P.M. Saravanan, MP Robert Bruce and MLAs Nainar Nagenthran and M. Abdul Wahab, formally inaugurated the car festival, the 85-foot-tall car weighing about 450 tonnes was drawn at 7.18 a.m. on Friday. As the exuberant devotees drew the car, three of the four ropes connected to Swami Nellaiyappar car snapped suddenly, much to the disappointment of the devotees, who charged the Hindu Religious and Charitable Department officials of not taking due steps to buy quality ropes for the all-important celebration.
Even though the officials brought immediately another rope to continue the car festival at 8.20 a.m., one of the four ropes snapped again immediately and it was decided to draw the car with three ropes. However, one more rope got snapped to stall the car festival for the third time within an hour, even as the car had reached the spot between Swami and Ambal sannidhi on the East Car Street.
“The HR and CE officials should be held responsible for this inauspicious development,” the pained devotees shouted.
After a brief commotion, a chain was connected to the car at 8.55 a.m. to continue the car festival.
