Many devotees use their own or local tanks and ponds for immersioin of their family statues of Lord Ganesha. But for the bigger, public statues, the major tank for immersion is at Tamari Nagar, which is located a short distance from the Big Temple.
Previously the occasion was very thrilling with never-ending columns of gigantic Ganeshas coming down main thoroughfares in carts and carriers on their way to Tamari Nagar tank. However nowadays a new system has been introduced and groups with large Ganeshas are given a specific time to bring their statue to the Tank for immersion.
The immersion occurred on Wednesday, September 7, 2016.
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| Boys bringing their Ganesha for immersion |
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| Larger Ganeshas need a little extra help! |
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| Up he goes |
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| A statue of Lord Ganesha in Tamari Nagar Tank |
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| Tamari Nagar tank with Arunachala in background |
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| Statues beginning to back up for immersion |
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| Lord Ganesha ready for immersion |
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| In He goes |
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| Lord Anjaneya with Lord Ganesha aloft coming for immersion |
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| Constant stream of statues going into the Tank |
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| Immersion complete for 2016, getting ready for 2017 |
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Important Information
Don't want to be a killjoy at such a happy celebratory time, but remember that immersion of toxic statues into our community water bodies (the most popular dunking ground in Tiruvannamalai during this season is the Tamari Nagar tank in the Housing Board) affects us all and will impair our health and our children's health.
Think before purchasing eco-unfriendly statues in future that are destined to be immersed in a water body.
To find out more about this, go to an earlier post at this link here.
ReplyDeleteThank you Meenakshi for mentioning about keeping things as ecologically viable as possible. The statues have a very toxic paint, and whenever possible, its best to keep with clay idols for immersion.
Its essential we in Tiruvannamalai start putting importance on maintaining the purity of our water bodies. Especially as this area has no rivers and we depend on ground water and our water catchment areas filled during the monsoon season.
ReplyDeleteSadly the major problem nowadays is being created because people are wealthier with more disposable income. Thus each year there are a greater number of toxically painted Ganeshas immersed in our water tanks.