Pathanamthitta, July 30, 2013: This year’s Uthrittthi Vallamkali, a snake-boat regatta on the Pampa, at Aranmula, will be held on September 20.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, K.V. Sambadevan, Ratheesh R. Mohan, and P. Mohanachandran, Palliyoda Seva Sanghom (PSS) president, secretary, and convener respectively, said Governor Nikhil Kumar would inaugurate the event at 1.30 p.m. G. Karthikeyan, Assembly Speaker, will preside over the function.

Union Minister Chiranjeevi will flag off the boat race and P.N. Narendranathan Nair, Nair Service Society president, will deliver the keynote address.

As many as 50 snake-boats (Palliyodams) will take part in the pageantry and race to be held in the A and B batches.

Winners in the pageantry and race would be presented with the Mannam Trophy, R. Sankar Memorial Trophy, the Travancore Devaswom Board Trophy, Uthradom Tirunal Marthanda Varma Trophy, District Panchayat Trophy, and Velu Pillai Memorial Trophy.

Vallasadya

PSS office-bearers said the annual Vallasadya offering to the presiding deity of the Sree Parthasarathy temple at Aranmula will begin with Travancore Devaswom Board president M.P. Govindan Nair lighting a ceremonial lamp in front of the holy golden temple mast immediately after the Utchapuja at the temple on Wednesday. TDB members Subhash Vasu and P.K. Kumaran will serve the feast on a plantain leaf on the occasion.

The crew of 15 snake-boats will partake of the feast served on the temple premises on the first day of the two-month long Vallasadya season on Wednesday.

Pooruruttathi Tirunal Maharaja of the Kowdiar palace will reach Aranmula as a representative of Uthradom Tirunal Marthanda Varma who offers the feast on Wednesday.

Businessmen B.R. Shetty and Sudheerkumar Shetty; members of the royal family of Nepal; and G. Venugopal, playback singer, will also accompany the royal representative.

The mega feast, Ashtami-Rohini Vallasadya, will be held at the Aranmula temple on August 28.

Swami Sandeepananda Giri will inaugurate it by lighting a ceremonial lamp after the Utchapuja at the temple.

PSS leaders said as many as 1.5 lakh people from different parts of the country would attend the feast in total.

5,000 kg rice

They said 5,000 kg rice would be cooked and the entire stock had been offered by one Umasankar of Valanchuzhy, near Pathanamthitta, as his offering to the presiding deity.

A supervising committee comprising officials of the TDB, PSS office-bearers, and representatives of devotees will oversee the conduct of the Vallasadya.

Captain Raveendran Nair of Thottathumannil, Brigadier N.P.R. Pillai of Alakkottu house, and P. Parameswarn Pillai, former Inspector General of Police, will be the devotees’ representatives.

Source: The Hindu, DT. July 30, 2013.