Erode: India is a land that celebrates every festival in a diverse manner. Just when the northern and western parts of the country were celebrating Bhai Dooj on Wednesday, the village of Kumitapuram near Thalavadi in Erode came alive with the Saaniyadi Thiruvizha festival. This is a festival where celebrations are marked by throwing cow dung at each other. A large number of youngsters participated in the event held at the Beereshwarar Temple in Kumitapuram, which is located along the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border. This is a harvest and temple festival of the Hindu community that dates back three centuries. It is known as Gorehabba in Kannada. The festival is celebrated normally on the third day after the main Diwali celebrations. This year's festival also began with special pujas at the Beereshwarar Temple. On the occasion of the festival, all the cow dung in the village was collected and piled up behind the temple. The festival committee performed a special puja at the pond on the village boundary, where the deities were brought to the venue with great enthusiasm to the beat of the drums.The village elders performed a special puja before the dung heap piled there and inaugurated the festival. Following this, the youngsters indulged in the traditional celebration of making balls of dung and throwing them at each other. A large crowd of women and children played cheerleaders on the occasion, constantly clapping as the celebrations went on.
