Centenary Celebrations of Carstreet Sharada Mahotsav: To be Grand Like Never Before

To mark the 100th year of Sharada Mahotsava at Acharya Mutt premises of Sri Venkatramana Temple in Car Street, several programmes have been organised from September 26 to October 6. This year, a ‘horekanike’ procession will be held on September 25 from Nehru Maidan.

Devotees and well-wishers will donate a veena and a peacock made of gold which would be placed next to the idol. All these years, the goddess was carrying a silver veena and a silver peacock. A silver pedestal (peeta) will be dedicated and a 11-feet tall silver ‘prabhavali’ is expected to give the goddess a grand and divine look. The goddess will be placed in a wooden mantapa with intricate carvings, that has been renovated at a cost of Rs 10 lakh.

The idol will be installed on September 26 with ‘Saraswathi Alankara’. The goddess will be dressed differently on all days and on the last day, she will be presented as Goddess Sharada wearing 18 ‘atte’ of Mangalore jasmine. The religious ceremony of the installation of the idol will be led by Kashi matadhipathi Sri Samyamindra Tirtha Swamiji. Sahasra Chandika Havana will be held from September 27 to October 2 at a cost of Rs 50 lakh.
After the completion of the havana, mass feeding will be held for 30,000 devotees. A special ‘deepalankara’ will be held on October 5.

Muslim weavers at Gyanvapi in Uttar Pradesh are engaged in giving the final touches to the green silk sari with gold embroidery for the idol of Mangaluru Sharada to be installed. On the day of the Shobhayatra on October 6, the goddess will be draped in this beautiful sari worth an approximate Rs 8 lakh, said Sharada Mahotsava Samithi media coordinator Manju Neereshwalya. The sari is sponsored by Sudheer Pai of Kulyadikars. Generally, goddess Sharada is adorned with a Banarasi silk sari with silver zari worth an approximate Rs 2 lakh. This being the centenary year celebrations, Pai decided to sponsor a sari with a gold zari work.