Maha Shivratri Festival in Kaveripattinam, Krishnagiri District, Tamilnadu

Maha Shivratri is a Hindu Festival celebrated annually in honor of Lord Shiva and it’s largely celebrated in India as well as in Nepal. It’s a mark of the new season which depicts the arrival of spring. On Shivratri Night, people from various places throng the popular Shiva temples across the country, enchant throughout the night which reflects the remembrance of “overcoming darkness and ignorance”. I decided to document the festival of Shivratri in Kaveripattinam, a small village located near Krishnagiri town and it’s nestled with the Eastern Ghats despite its well connected by roads. Kaveripattinam is quite famous for its mangoes Cultivation and other small scale industries.

On the next day of Shivratri, thousands upon thousands of people flocked to the Angalamman temple in Kaveripatnam. During the procession, some devotees have pierced hundreds of lemons onto their torsos but few of the dancers have been pierced with hooks on their back and have a spear pricked through their cheeks. On the other side, devotees have applied color full make and adorn many accessories like garlands and weapons to resemble the goddess, Kali.  Once Kali Make up is done, they performed animal sacrifice and took them to temple for further rituals. This festival is the scene to a lot of quite gory rituals and not recommended for them who are quite sensitive.

How to reach Kaveri Patnam? : Krishnagiri is the nearest town and buses are available for every half hour to reach Kaveri Patnam.

Where to stay: Lodges are there at Kaveripatnam but it’s recommended to book there early since it will be crowded during festival time.

Best time to explore: It’s recommended to reach there early morning hours to know about places before everything starts.