The temple car gleams in the sun: its wooden exteriors have been polished, the small metal bells hanging from its sides have been dusted to a sheen. It is time for its yearly sojourn into the city, bearing goddess Koniamman, believed to be the city’s guardian deity. It is a hot afternoon at Thermutti on Raja Street, where the temple car stands. A mother and her little girl walk inside the fenced-in area to look at it up-close. On February 28 though, they cannot get anywhere near it.
The Koniamman temple car festival, an annual spectacle that attracts thousands of people, is an important event in the city. The temple car, that sports gigantic wooden wheels, will be hand-pulled through Raja Street, Oppanakara Street, Vysial Street and Karuppa Gounder Street, before making its way back to Thermutti.
