WARANGAL: The atmosphere was upbeat outside the Kannepalli Temple, four km from the Medaram temple. Frenzied devotees danced to the drumbeats greeting tribal goddess Saralamma. The tribal priests who had been performing prayers in the temple throughout the day finally came out carrying the red Saralamma in the form of a vermilion casket. Devotees surged towards the temple and the police put a cordon around the priests who are believed to be possessed by the Goddess Saralamma.
So intense was the religious fervour, that devotees fell down on the road asking to be walked upon. Policemen picked them up and moved them out of the way. The “possessed” priests never stopped and moved at a brisk pace towards the Medaram temple. At the same time tribal king Pagididdaraju was brought from Punugondla village in Mahbubabad district.
Lakhs of devotees gathered at Medaram on Wednesday to witness the arrival of Goddess Saralamma at the altar. They took a holy dip in the Jampanna vagu and formed long queues outside the temple. Director General of Police M. Mahender Reddy arrived in the afternoon and inspected the security arrangements as Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh will be visiting the temple on Thursday and Vice- President Venkaiah Naidu on Friday.
