JOIN USDevotees thronged the Chamundeshwari Temple on Chamundi Hills here on the second Friday of Ashadha month, braving rains and chilly weather, to have a darshan of the goddess.
The idol of the deity was adorned with flowers and jewels and the temple interiors were decorated with flowers and bunches of grapes.
Thousands of people from Mysore and surrounding areas climbed the steps to the hill, while many more used the bus service from the Lalitha Mahal helipad, where parking was provided for vehicles.
The rush continued almost throughout the day since the break of dawn. Pilgrims unfurled their umbrellas in long queues to shelter themselves from the pestering drizzle.
Special arrangements had been made to facilitate smooth flow of traffic and darshan of the goddess.
Police and private security personnel guided devotees in and out of the temple. Various poojas were offered to the deity in the presence of chief priest Shashishekhar Dixit.
Devotees distributed pongal, pulav, bisibele baath and other food items as prasada. Durga Agencies of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, and Sri Chamundeshwari Seva Sangha of Nanjangud organised mass feeding.
Buses
As private vehicles were restricted from travelling up the hill, 70 Karnataka State Transport Corporation buses ferried devotees, free of cost, to the hill and back. Several buggies were used to transport the old and the sick to the temple from the KSRTC stand atop the hill. Both female police and home guards were pressed into service.
S N Yathiraj, Muzrai Tahsildar, told Deccan Herald that the number of people, 60,000, who visited the temple was less this Friday, compared with the 80,000 on the first Friday last week, because of rains.