CHENNAI, INDIA, April 4, 2015 (Express News): An air of festivity pervaded over Mylapore on Thursday as lakhs of people from various parts of Chennai and a significant number of them from neighboring districts congregated at the Sri Kapaleeswarar temple to take part in the Arupathu Moovar Festival, the culmination of Panguni Peruvizha. Roads leading to the temple were crowded with people offering buttermilk, rose milk, fruits, biscuits, variety rice, chocolates, cucumber, packaged water, etc., to devotees who visited the temple to witness the procession of the 63 Saivite Saints. There was heavy police bundobust to manage the crowd.
History has it that during the times of one of the four senior Saivite saints — Thirugnana Sambandar — one of his devotees, Sivanesan Chettiyar, who lived in Mylapore, wished to give his daughter Angam Poompavai in marriage to Thirugnana Sambandar. However, she died of snakebite and Sivanesan Chettiyar kept the ashes of her daughter in a pot. After some time, when Sambandar visited Mylapore, he handed over the pot containing the ashes to him. The Saivite saint composes 10 songs in praise of the Lord and Angam Poompavai gets her life back. This incident was re-enacted in the temple on Thursday. The main part of the Panguni festival of Kapaleeswarar temple will come to an end on April 4.