Sun temple fete on Feb 2, chopper ride for devotees
Visakhapatnam:Srikakulam MLA Gondu Shankar has said this Ratha Saptami celebration, “to be remembered by three generations,” will remain a landmark in the spiritual history of Chikkolu (old name for Srikakulam).
On Monday, he congratulated the district officials who started the celebrations with Surya Namaskaram in the early morning hour.
District collector SD Pundkar called for holding of the three-day Arasavalli Sri Suryanarayana Swamy Rathasaptami celebrations in a grand manner. He told the media on Monday that all arrangements were being made for the Rath Saptami celebrations, which have been recognized as a state festival for the first time.
He said the Surya Namaskar was organised as a 'curtain raiser' for the main festival on February 2. “There will be a record-breaking Surya Namaskar programme on an 80-foot road with about 5,000 persons’ participation.
State-level volleyball competitions will be held on the opening day of the celebrations, as also those on rural sports (district level) such as Karrasamu, Sangeedis, lifting of grain sacks and weightlifting.
Among the cultural programmes, Kolatam, Tappegullu Chenchu Bagotham, Chekka Bhajana, Turpu Bhagavatam, Tali Khana, Nadaswaram and Peddapadu have been arranged.
He said dances will be organised by the groups of Ganapathi Sharma (music), Neeraja Subramaniam, Srikanth, a dance by Sampradayam Gurukulam, and orchestra with famous singer Mangli. For the first time in the district, an opportunity will be provided to people to see the tourism circuit from the sky by use of a helicopter.
