Mancherial’s Padmalpuri Kako Temple draws crowds of tribals

The tribals congregated on the premises of the shrine and performed traditional prayers. They ceremoniously worshipped the deity by presenting naivedyam.

Mancherial: A large number of aboriginal tribes or Adivasis belonging to several parts of erstwhile Adilabad and neighbouring Maharashtra made a beeline to the ancient Padmalpuri Kako Etmasur temple on the banks of Godavari at Gudirevu village in Dandepalli mandal on Friday.

The tribals congregated on the premises of the shrine and performed traditional prayers. They ceremoniously worshipped the deity by presenting naivedyam. They earlier took a dip in the river before taking darshan of the goddess.

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Tribal artistes presented various traditional dance forms, while the surroundings of the shrine reverberated with drum beats and mellifluous music of instruments. Dandari troupes, wearing crowns made of peacock feathers, presented the popular Gussadi dance form and rhythmically danced to drum beats, enthralling audiences.

The ethnic tribes dwelling in Mancherial, Kumram Bheem Asifabad, Adilabad, Nirmal, and Chandrapur, Nanded and Gadchiroli districts of Maharashtra, certain places of Chhattisgarh camped under make-shift tents. They arrived at the village by tractors, vans, trolleys and motorbikes.

The sleepy village has come alive with the presence of the tribals. The tribals were fed at the shrine and security was heightened to prevent untoward incidents. The tiny village has come alive with the arrival of thousands of the tribals.

They visit the only shrine of the deity, as a prelude and as part of Dandari-Gussadi festival. Ramagundam Commissioner of Police Rema Rajeshwari visited the temple on Thursday.