The annual ten-day chariot festival conducted here during the month of November(Malayalam month Thulam & Tamil month Aippasi) is one of the most remarkable festivals of Kerala. Also known as
Kalpathy Theru(Kalpathy Chariot),
Vedic recitals and cultural programmes are held in the temple during the first four days of the festival. The chariots are not brought on until the last three days of the festival. During the other days, the idols of the deities are decorated in different forms(such as
Garuda vahana or
Hanuman vahana for
Lord Vishnu, & Mooshika(mouse) vahana for
Lord Ganesha) and is carried through the streets in huge processions by the residents of the village, namely the
Kalpathy Youngsters from the villages within Kalpathy, in either the support of bamboo shoots or in palanquins. This tradition is believed to be over 700 years old. There's also the
Anjaam Thirunaal(അഞ്ചാം തിരുനാൾ/Fifth Festival) which is the fifth day of the Ratholsavam where the deities are carried in processions in smaller chariots, and the big ones are only brought on in the last three days of the festival. On the last three days, thousands of devotees gather together to draw decorated temple chariots through the streets. 6 chariots from 4 temples take part in the procession, namely the temples of
Sri Visalakshi Sametha Viswanatha Swamy,
Sri Lakshmi Narayana Perumal, Manthakkara Sree Mahaganapathy & Chathapuram Sri Prasanna Mahaganapathy. Viswanatha Swamy temple owns three of the six chariots, which are of Lord
Shiva &
Parvati, Lord
Ganesha, and the final one of Lord
Muruga, who is the youngest of Lord Shiva's children and has the smallest chariot. The final three days of the festival are known as
Onnam(First)
Theru, Randam(Second)
Theru & Munnam(Third)
Theru respectively. On the final day, all the chariots assemble in front of the Visalakshi Sametha Viswanatha Swamy temple, termed as the
Devarathasangamam(Chariot Confluence). The point of meeting is also known as
Therumutty(തേരുമുട്ടി). Thousands of devotees converge at Kalpathy and pull the chariot every year. The chants of Lord Shiva, Narayana & Hanuman while the ropes are drawn is an unmissable event. ==Pictures==