Arnab fails to dampen spirits of devotees in Vizianagaram, Sirimanotsavam held peacefully

Sri Pyditalli Ammavari priest Bantupalli Venkata Rao blessing devotees from the ‘Sirimanu’ in Vizianagaram on Tuesday.

Heavy rain under the impact of cyclone Arnab failed to dampen the spirits of devotees, who turned out in large numbers to participate in annual ‘Sri Pyditalli Ammaravari Sirimanotsavam’ which concluded peacefully on Tuesday evening.

Devotees take blessing during Sirimanotsavam in Vizianagaram on Tuesday.

On behalf of the the Goddess Pydimamba, the temple chief priest Bantupalli Venkata Rao blessed the devotees from the ‘Sirimanu’, a huge trunk of a tree specially selected and felled for the festival after offering special prayers at Jonnavalasa village, on the outskirts of Vizianagaram.

As per custom the priest, seated atop the ‘Sirimanu’ blessed devotees gathered along the procession route.

Sri Pyditalli ammavari temple priest Bantupalli Venkata Rao tied atop the Sirimanu during the Sirimanotsavam held in Vizianagaram on Tuesday.

The ‘Sirimanu’ accompanied by the ‘Anjali Ratham’ (symbolic white elephant) and ‘Bestavari Vala’ (fishermen’s net), moved from the temple premises to the fort at around 3:30 pm. Normally, the celestial procession begins at 4:30 pm, but the event was advanced by an hour in view of cylone Arnab.

Devotees lined the route of the ‘Sirimanu,’ offered prayers and the traditional ‘banana prasadam’ to the deity. The temple’s hereditary trustee and Goa Governor Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Vizianagaram MLA Aditi Vijaya Lakshmi and their family members watched the ‘Sirimanotsavam’ from the fort.

Minister for MSME Kondapalli Srinivas, Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha and other public representatives also witnessed the procession.

Collector S. Ramsundar Reddy and Superintendent of Police A.R. Damodar supervised the arrangements for the ‘Sirimanotsavam’ with the support of the endowments, municipal, revenue, police departments. As many as 3000 police personnel were deployed in different places to ensure the smooth conduct of the historic procession and to avoid any untoward incident.

Senior officials heaved a sigh of relief as the cyclone had little impact during the procession. They had feared that the heavy winds would prevent the smooth movement of the long trunk of the ‘Sirimanu,’ but weather conditions remained favourable during the procession.

Devotees who came from different parts of North Andhra region began offering prayers from Monday night onwards in the temple which was rebuilt recently. The rush is expected to continue over the next couple of days.

As part of the month-long festivities, a float festival will be organised in Pedda cheruvu on November 3, and celebrations would conclude with ‘Vuyyala Kambala utsavam’ on November 10, 2026.