Deepam 2008 Photographs

For last year's Deepam I posted many excellent photographs covering various functions during the Festival. This year I will be doing the same and in this respect am working with a photographer who will be supplying me with unique photographs of each function. The below is of the Maha Radham (Big Car) in 2007 circumbulating Arunachaleswarar Temple -- it was taken by the same photographer that I am using this year. You can view the full size photograph by clicking on it.

Maha Radham-- 2007 Deepam Festival
click to enlarge

There will be some Deepam photographs posted on Arunachala Grace, however this year I am offering readers the opportunity to acquire a full pictorial history of the Deepam Festival 2008. In this respect there will be well over two hundred photographs (same size as 'enlarged' photo sample above) of the Festival. As the photographer is professionally accredited, he is able to take photographs in areas of Arunachaleswarar Temple etc., which generally restricts the taking of photographs, he is also able to get exceptional access to cover the actual lighting of the Hill Deepam.

If you wish to receive a DVD pictorial history of the 2008 Arunachala Deepam, please get in touch at the contact link situated top left of Arunachala Grace. A donation is required in order to cover costs and expenses. There is a PayPal facility located at the left column of this page. In the case of International readers please add an additional U.S.$10 to your donation to bear the cost of registered, airmail.

Juggernaut DVD

Juggernaut a film by Rob Das, photography by Daan de Boer and funded by the Dutch Film Fund, is available through this site. The film filmed at Arunachala Karthikai Deepam and produced in Holland, is a high international quality DVD (lasting about 50 minutes).

“The Karthikai Deepam chariot festival is one of the most important Hindu festivals of the year. Annually thousands of devotees assemble in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, to take part in the many street ceremonies and to offer sacrifices to Shiva. The film Juggernaut observes these events from close range and so transports the viewer to an unfamiliar world. In a voice-over one of the pilgrims tells us about his life. He is a sadhu, a holy man, travelling from one temple to another, begging his way around the country. Following the death of his wife and daughter he left all his worldly possessions behind and now all he owns are the clothes on his back. But he is at peace with his ascetic existence. His faith, which is not restricted to a single God, is all he needs. He worships Jesus, Allah and Shiva equally, depending on the Temple he visits.

As the film starts the town appears calm. A man is washing himself at a well, a woman is sweeping her porch, the last licks of paint are applied to the colourful chariots. But the crowd quickly grows and before long the main street is a pulsating throng of people. The high point of the festival is when a towering chariot, a temple on wheels, is pulled through the town by hundreds of men and women, using enormous chains.

Using very few words, juggernaut respectfully portrays a town engulfed with religious devotion and dedication and shows the terrific power and energy released by communal rituals like these. It concludes with amazing close-up shots of the preparation of the Deepam Cauldron on the top of Arunachala and at dusk, amidst throngs of chanting devotees, its lighting.”

For ordering information of the Juggernaut DVD please go to this link

This is definitely the best quality DVD video of Karthikai Deepam which is currently available. The footage of the lighting of the cauldron is truly extraordinary - just like being there!