Tribals make a beeline to Gudirevu in Mancherial

Mancherial: About 10,000 Adivasis belonging to several parts of erstwhile Adilabad district and neighbouring Maharashtra thronged Padmalpuri Kako Etmasur temple on the banks of Godavari at Gudirevu village in Dandepalli mandal on Sunday. They visited the shrine as a prelude to Dandari-Gussadi, an important cultural and religious affair of the ethnic tribes. The tribals performed […]

Mancherial: About 10,000 Adivasis belonging to several parts of erstwhile Adilabad district and neighbouring Maharashtra thronged Padmalpuri Kako Etmasur temple on the banks of Godavari at Gudirevu village in Dandepalli mandal on Sunday. They visited the shrine as a prelude to Dandari-Gussadi, an important cultural and religious affair of the ethnic tribes.

The tribals performed traditional prayers and ceremoniously worshipped the deity by presenting naivedyam. They took a holy dip in the river before taking darshan of the goddess. The surroundings of the shrine were reverberated with drum beats and euphonious music of instruments played by the tribal artistes. The air was totally filled with spirituality.

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Mancherial MLA Diwakar Rao, his counterpart of Asifabad Athram Sakku, Aboriginal Tribal Welfare Advisory Committee chairman Kanaka Lakke Rao, Mancherial ACP Akhil Mahajan and many other local public representatives were present. About 50 policemen were deployed at the holy place to prevent untoward incidents.

Diwakar Rao said that the government granted Rs 30 lakh for constructing a permanent temple for the deity. He assured he would bring more funds for creating a hall and basic amenities for the convenience of the devotees. Sakku said that the government was giving paramount importance to promote festivals and the culture of tribals.

Dandari troupes, wearing crowns made using peacock feathers, presented the popular Gussadi dance form and rhythmically danced to drum beats, enthralling audiences. Female dance troupes also rendered performance and belted out songs hailing the deity. Cultural programmes were organized as part of the ceremonies. The devotees were fed by organisers of the festivities.

The ethnic tribes dwelling in different parts of Mancherial, Kumram Bheem Asifabad, Adilabad, Nirmal, and Chandrapur, Nanded and Gadchiroli districts of Maharashtra, certain places of Chhattisgarh made a beeline to the sleepy Gudirevu to take part in the festivities. They camped under make-shift tents. They arrived at the village by tractors, vans, trolleys and motorbikes.

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