Preparations are almost over for the customary Erumely Petta Thullal, an important ritual as part of the annual Makaravilakku festival, slated to be celebrated on January 11.

Preparations are almost over for the customary Erumely Petta Thullal, an important ritual as part of the annual Makaravilakku festival, slated to be celebrated on January 11.
Petta Thullal, marking the victory of Lord Ayyappa over demon Mahishi, will be offered by Ambulappuzha and the Alangattu teams.
The Petta Thullal ritual by the 500-member Ambalappuzha team, led Periyon Chandrasekharan Nair, who will be leading the team for the 25th consecutive year, will begin from Erumely Petta Sastha temple at 12.30 pm after witnessing “Krishnaparunthu” in the sky above the temple.
Led by caparisoned elephants and teams playing percussion instruments, the Petta Thullal procession will reach the East Fort of Erumely Sree Dharma Sastha temple where Travancore Devaswom Board president Prayar Gopalakrishnan and members Ajay Tharayil and K Raghavan will give a traditional reception.
The ritual will conclude in front of the temple after circumambulating the Nalambalam of the temple at 2 pm.
Petta Thullal by Alangattu team: The 300-member Alangattu team, led by Thankappan Nair and Vijaykumar, will begin from the Petta temple at 2.30 pm after witnessing a “star” in the sky above the temple.
The team members, putting sandalwood paste on the forehead, will dance to tune of the percussion instruments before reaching the Lord Sastha temple at 4 pm.