Kallidaikurichi’s Sannadhi Street: Prettiest Hotspot for Karthigai Deepam Festival Rural Bonanza

Karthigai Deepam or Karthik Purnima, the festival of lights, is almost non-existent in urban India, but thankfully it is alive and kicking in rural India, especially in rural Tamil Nadu. The agraharams of Kallidiakurichi are a fabulous place to experience this rich festival of India. The prettiest hotspot in Kallidaikurichi for this festival has to be the Sannadhi street where right in front of the ancient Adi Varaha Perumal temple and in between two rows of pretty Brahmin agraharam homes, all the vibrant action takes place.



As the lane is narrow, the sheer number of lamps lit by people in front of their homes gives this entire street a divine aura for close to two hours in the evening.

The action begins an hour before sunset on the festival days. Maa Kolam (or rangoli made from rice batter) are drawn onto the street in front of their respective homes. Each home comes up with their unique traditional design. Some kolams can be small, while others can be quite big. The size of the kolam depends on the number of lamps that you intend to place over it. Then comes the shining brass and silver lamps that are placed upon pedestals on top of the kolam. The married ladies or the young girls of the house anoint these lamps with sandalwood and vermilion, decorate them with flowers and then light them up.



Each person of the household and the street are dressed in traditional clothes. While some of them burst crackers (especially flowers pots, sky shots, chakri or rockets), others resort to sitting in front of their homes (in their home’s thinnai), guarding their expensive lamps and watching the action unfold in the other houses. The true magnificence unfolds as darkness sets in and the light from the lamps take effect. As with most Indian festivals, there is happy vibe amongst the locals and smiling faces can be seen and happy conversations can be heard almost everywhere on the Sannadhi street.



As the street is quite narrow in width and small in length, you can walk its length and width multiple times and slowly soak in the magic of this festival through the rich culture, the beautiful lamps and the intricate kolam designs. In between, you can strike conversations with the locals or simply smile at them and congratulate them on their gorgeous lamps and kolams. And finally after your Sannadhi street sojourn is complete, you can go to the Adi Varaha Perumal temple and offer your respects to the lord. A perfect end to a colourful, vibrant and magnificent festival.



Timings to experience this festival:

One hour before sunset to one hour after sunset.

The festival is celebrated usually on two days. The day before Karthik Purnima and the day of Karthik Purnima.



How to reach there:

The nearest domestic airport would be Tuticorin airport, about 75 kms away. It has daily flights from Chennai and Bangalore. The nearest international airports would be Thiruvananthapuram international airport (about 150 kms away) and Madurai international airport (about 190 kms away).

The nearest railway station with excellent pan India connectivity is Tirunelveli Junction, about 35 kms away. Kallidaikurichi has a railway station, but long distances options are limited. However, daily passenger trains and express trains connect Kallidaikurichi with Shencottai, Tirunelveli, Kerala and Erode.

The nearest bus station is Kallidaikurichi, though superior connectivity would be found at Tirunelveli.

If you are traveling by road on your own, take the 4 lane Bangalore – Kanyakumari highway till Tirunelveli. Enter Tirunelveli city for a bit and at Melapalayam signal, turn right towards Kallidaikurichi and Ambasamudram via Pattamadai, Cheranmahadevi, Karukurichi and Veeravanallur.



Where to stay:

If simple budget hotels are your thing, you can opt for Bhaskar Lodge or JRV Residences at Kallidaikurichi or Hotel Ambai Grand at Ambasamudram.

If you wish to stay inside the agraharam, opt for homestays like Kallidai Home Stay and other traditional homes that have been turned into guest houses.

If you want much better luxury, head to Tirunelveli city, about 35 kms away.



Where to eat:

The ideal option is to opt for meals at the place where you are staying at. If that is not an option, there are small restaurants like Varaha Mess and Kannan hotel that offer simple and delicious snack items like dosa, idli, appam, puri, etc. For proper sit down meals, head to Hotel Ramanas at Ambasamudram, 3 kms away. They also have an air-conditioned branch at Agastiyarpatti.

For a much wider range, head to Tirunelveli city, about 35 kms away. Janakiram, Aryas and Marudham serve excellent vegetarian fare, while the traditional mess hotels and the suite of restaurants in Reddiarpetti serve excellent non vegetarian cuisine.



Other traditional festivals to experience at Kallidaikurichi:

1) Kallidaikurichi Adi Varaha Perumal Temple Chariot Festival: Grand cultural spectacle in rural Tamil Nadu

2) Garuda Sevai from the agraharams of Kallidaikurichi

3) Festival of Shivaratri from a traditional Tamil Nadu village

4) Festival of Pongal from a traditional Tamil Nadu village

5) Festival of Thiruvathirai from a traditional Tamil Nadu village

6) Saastha Preeti festival

7) Sasthi festival and Soora Samharam

8) Vaikatha Ashtami festival



Top tourist attractions in Kallidaikurichi:

1) Thamirabharani river bank for bathing and photography (both Kallidaikurichi and Ambasamudram banks are scenic places that are also popular locations for movie shoots)

2) Old Thamirabharani bridge for early morning and late evening walks and for photography

3) Adi Varaha Perumal temple, the appalam shops of Sannadhi street and the cultural vibes of Sannadhi street – the epicenter of Kallidaikurichi

4) The posh agraharam houses of Veerapuram street, Mudalipuram street and Ekambaram street – perfect for a walking tour

5) Chidambareswarar Sivagami Ambal temple, the kannadigan irrigation canal (locally called as vaykaal) and the surrounding paddy fields

6) The large bungalows near the railway station – popular movie shoot locations

7) Tilak Vidyalaya school –that has been imparting education since the late 1800s



Other tourist attractions near Kallidaikurichi:

1) Kallidaikurichi Anaicut: Gorgeous picnic spot nestled in the lap of nature

2) Athalanallur Gajendra Varadharaja Perumal Temple: The location of the Gajendra Moksham Legend

3) Manjolai: The unknown hill station gem of India

4) Sivasailam Temple: 1000 year old temple surrounded by the lush mountains of the Western Ghats

5) Sivasailam: One of the wettest places during the North East monsoon in India

6) Nalumukku: The wettest place of India during the North East monsoon

7) Kudrevetty: The gorgeous windy station of Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve

8) Manimuthar Falls: The herbal waterfall inside a tiger reserve

9) Agastyar Falls: A gorgeous waterfall on the Thamirabharani river

10) Oothu: The quaint little hill station of Tamil Nadu



11) Kakkachi: The highest point inside Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve

12) Scenic Iron Bridge of Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve: Pristine nature overloaded

13) Karaiyar Dam: Offbeat wildlife and nature holiday destination in India’s deep south

14) Cycling through the backyards of Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve

15) Hidden pristine waterfall inside Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve

16) Mannarkoil Rajaopalaswamy Temple: Magnificent 10th century temple with an ashtanga vimana

17) 10th Century Brahmadesam Kailasanathar Temple: Lesser known architectural marvel of South India

18) 1000 year old Papanasanathar Temple: Where you can wash all your sins away

19) Iruttu Kadai Halwa: Icon of Tirunelveli

20) Nellaiappar Temple: A 7th century cosmic dance wonder

21) Pattamadai Pai: GI tagged beautiful hand woven mats from a tiny Tamil Nadu village

22) 10th century Valiswara Temple at Thiruvaliswaram: Hidden Chola gem in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu

23) Kallidaikurichi to Manimuthar Dam: A top scenic and rustic cycling route

24) Thiruppudaumarudur Naramboonathar Temple: 6th century Shiva temple located on the banks of the Thamirabharani river

25) Harikesavanallur Ariyanatha Swamy Temple: A powerful Shiva temple that is a Guru Sthalam, a Kubera Sthalam and a Maandi Sthalam

26) Cheranmahadevi Ammainathar Swamy Temple: A Nava Kailayam temple dedicated to the moon god that is surrounded by lush paddy fields and the Thamirabharani river

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The Festival of Karthigai Deepam from a Traditional Tamil Nadu Village

Most of us Indians associate only the festival of Deepavali with the festival of lights, but there is another traditional Indian festival that is also the festival of lights. This festival is called Karthika Deepam, an ancient Tamil festival that is celebrated on the Poornima (full moon) night of the Karthik month. It is also called Karthik Poornima in our country. It is mainly celebrated by the people of South India, but also celebrated in Sri Lanka, South East Asia and China. In Thailand, it goes by the name of Loi Krathong in Thailand, ‘Tazaungdaing festival’ in Myanmar, Full moon poya in Sri Lanka, Lantern festival in China and Bon Om Touk in Laos.



One of the earliest references to the festival is found in the Akananuru, a book of poems that dates back to the Sangam period (200 BCE to 300 CE). Karthika Deepam is dedicated to Lord Karthikeya (Murugan) and Lord Shiva according to two different legends. On this day, one can find all Murugan and Shiva temples to be jampacked with devotees. The most iconic scenes can be seen at the Arunachaleswarar temple at Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu.

     
    
Most Indians hardly know about this festival. In Indian cities, you can see a very small number of homes lighting lamps on this day, but that is not the case in this traditional Tamil Nadu village where I saw this festival being celebrated with full vigour, pomp and fervour. The whole village was illuminated with lamps, lights and crackers.
   
     
    
Festival action begins a couple of days before the actual festival. People clean their homes, bring out all their brass and silver lamps from the lockers and clean them till they shine. On the evening of Karthigai deepam, the whole village washes the front of their houses, decorate with kolam (rangoli) either with rice powder, colours or both. They then keep the lamps on top of this rangoli facing east. Each lamp is decorated with vermilion, sandalwood and flowers.     
   
     
    
Just before sunset, the ladies of each house, come out of their homes decked in traditional attire. They then light the lamps after doing pooja and mangalarti. By now, dusk has started setting in and the lamps in front of each house shine brighter. You can hear all kinds of slogams and hymns either sung by the people or played in their electronic devices at their homes.
   
     
    
Once darkness sets in, people start bursting crackers, lighting sparklers and burning chakris. For a moment, you feel it is the festival of Deepavali all over again. While the lamps are burning bright, the whole village is sitting in front of their homes, wishing everyone a happy karthikai deepam and enjoying neighbouring gossip.    
   


As the oil in the lamps start running out, the villagers start chanting hymns and slowly extinguish the flame in the lamps. By half past seven, all the lamps have gone back inside into the house and the festive atmosphere of the evening seems to have disappeared. This is when all the villagers happen to visit the nearby Shiva, Murugan and Perumal temples to seek the blessings of the lord.

     

This evening ritual repeats itself every evening starting just before sunset for the next seven days. This is how the village of Kallidaikurichi, a traditional Brahmin agraharam celebrates the festival of Karthikai Deepam in the deep south of Tamil Nadu in India. Everything about the celebration is a joy to watch and offers a good insight into your rich ancient culture.



Have you experienced such rich celebrations of the Karthikai Deepam festival anywhere in India? Have you experienced our traditional Indian festivals in rural India? If so, do share your experiences in the comments below.

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