Manimals

Well, what exactly is a manimal? A man-animal aka "Purushaa-mirugham" in Tamil.

It is a scary looking stead for the gods. Oh, yes, the mind is still in Mylapore..

This one was on a weekday and there were high school examinations in the state government schools smack in the middle of the festival and the crowd was not as big or as enthusiastic. The local government is atheist and these days, the poor kids from Mylapore have to study while all the bands are playing outside. Now that, is tough!)

Just like the attendence on the last day of a cricket test match that was a definite draw, this crowd was comprised only of the real ardent devotees who were going for the record books to say "I attended every day!".

Still it was fun to watch as they did the rounds faster. The photo sampler follows..

Purushaa-mirugam (the manimal)

Singham (Lion)

Puli (Tiger)

All of them in series..

My theory? The whole idea of having a utsavam is to entertain kids and get them to like the temple and associated concepts at an early age.

This was the "catch them young" marketing campaign?

They definitely succeeded in catching me.

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