This was the final day of margazhi bhajans. And the scenes witnessed on the Mada Streets of Mylapore one final time were telling.
For as four groups, some consisting of four people, some of seven, did the rounds, chanting and praying, you could feel the smoke hanging in the air, caused by the burning of waste, a ritual carried out on the day of Bhogi, on the eve of Pongal festival.
Dawn time temperature has been 24 degrees and the mornings have been misty too. Today, as the bhajans floated in the air, the mist and smoke filled the layers above the Mada Streets.
These past four weeks, while the dedicated and low-profile devotees have maintained their rounds of the bhajans, a few large groups which have been here on weekends, some only on Sundays, have given a twist to this margazhi practice.
- Inputs by Baskar Seshadri
