Warangal: Sammakka, Saralamma return

Warangal: The happiness of the devotees at Medaram knew no bounds as the clouds opened up and it rained heavily for several minutes in and around the village. The devotees believe it was the deities Sammakka and Saralamma, who were responding to their prayers delighted at their devotion.

Saturday also marked a spectacular finale to the biggest tribal celebration as both the deities returned to the forest. The priests performed traditional rituals and conducted ‘Vana pravesham’ of the goddesses amid drum beats and colourful dances by devotees.

Sammakka was taken back to the Chilukalagutta amid traditional chants by priest Kokkera Krishn-aiah. Saralamma returned to Kannepalli village by priest Kaka Sariah. Pagiddaraju was taken to Poonugondlu village in Kothaguda and Govinda-raju returned to Kondai village in Eturnagaram.

More than one crore devotees visited Medaram for the jatara and had darshan of their revered deities. The rush of devotees was also very large on the fourth and final day.

With all the devotees heading back to their homes after the jatara, the RTC bus station at Medaram was seen bustling with people looking for their ride back home. The Corporation officials made all the arrangements for the convenience of the devotees with routes segregated from one another. Buses were made available round-the-clock and the devotees had no problem with the continuous flow of the buses.

The people who raised temporary settlements packed up their tents and moved out of the village. Those who had set businesses offered last minute discounts in order to avoid taking the load back.