Sakambari festival begins at Durga temple

Temple precincts, idols tastefully decorated with vegetables

The three-day Sakambari festival began on a grand note at Sri Durga Malleswara Swamyvarla Devasthanam atop Indrakeeladri here on Thursday. The temple precincts were decorated with vegetables and fruits. The idol of goddess Durga was tastefully decorated as Sakambari Devi with lots of vegetables to propitiate the goddess. The priests beautified the presiding deity with vegetables like ridge gourd (beerakaya), coccinia (dondakaya), brinjal, lemon and carrot. A garland of green chillies was also among the many vegetable garlands decorated to the goddess. Bottle gourds were placed on either side of the deity which was also draped in a garland of drumsticks. The processional deities were also beautifully decorated with all kinds of vegetables and fruits. Vegetable traders and devotees generously donated tons of veggies, including spinach, coriander, and curry leaves, for the event.