Sirimanotsavam: North Andhra folk festival to be celebrated grandly on 11 October

Vizianagaram: The Vizianagaram district administration has decided to conduct the annual Sirimanotsavam, a major festival of the presiding deity of Vizianagaram town Sri Pydithalli Ammavari Jatara, on 11 October in a grand manner.

The major folk festival in north coastal Andhra Pradesh was celebrated without the usual flock of devotees for the past two years as the district administration hadn't allowed devotees to participate in the Sirimotsavam due to Covid-19.

Traditionally, the Sirimanu Jatara, the biggest folk festival in the region, is celebrated on the first Tuesday after the Dasara festival every year. The annual fest, also known as Sirimaanu Panduga, draws three to four lakh people from different parts of Andhra Pradesh and from neighboring Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

Vizianagaram district collector A. Surya Kumari said Covid-19 restrictions are not in force so the district administration will allow devotees to participate in the festival this year. Sirimanotsavam, the main event of the fest, will be held on 11 October and the Tholelu festival on 10 October, she added.

Keeping in view the rush of devotees, the APSRTC will run special buses for the festival. The district administration is chalking out plans to introduce tickets for the darshan of the deity during the festival days. The price of the darshan ticket will be Rs. 100 and Rs. 300. The online darshan tickets will be available at all mandal headquarters and Sachivalayams in the district.

The devotees will witness the spectacle of the priest sitting on top of the 55-feet pole (sirimanu) in regal robes to be taken around the fort. Hanging from the upper end of the Sirimanu, the priest will bless the devotees. The chariot will cover the thoroughfares of Vizianagaram on 11 October.