Watch: Women Take Part In Wine Festival At Tamil Nadu's Alangudi Nadiyamman Temple

The month-long Aadi month from 17 July to 17 August 2023 is being celebrated with flamboyance across Tamil Nadu. However, it is the famous Arulmigu Nadiamman Temple in Pudukottai district that hits the headlines for its wine festival every year around this time. Signifying the same, women from different villages participated in the Madhu Utetu festival at the temple on Tuesday. The video showed the women marking the last Tuesday of the Aadi month for the goddess’ protection.

Now, as part of the auspicious occasion, the women began the festival with ‘kolahalam’ or unrestrained merrymaking. This was followed by women from Alangudi and the surrounding villages marking the wine festival.

During the ceremony, women carried wine in huge jugs decorated with flowers on their heads to the Nadiamman temple as they made special offerings to the Goddess. Not only this, Maavilakku puja also marked an extraordinary event. Maavilakku Mavu is an auspicious rice flour lamp made with rice flour and jaggery. It is prepared especially on Tuesdays and Fridays in Aadi.

Tamil Nadu’s Pudukkottai district is home to the wine harvesting festival. It comes across as a prayer for the rains to thrive and agricultural activity to proliferate. This is accomplished by women through fasting and putting their crops, like paddy, in jugs. On top of it, some coconut milk is added and the pot is adorned with flowers. Ultimately, the women apply kumkum and carry it with utmost devotion from villages to temples. Having reached the temple, they place it there and perform puja.

While every Tamil month holds its own significance, the month-long Aadi has its own distinctive features. Several hindu celebrations like Aadipandikai, Aadi Purut, Adi Villi, Adi Chevvai, Adi Krittikai, Adi Amavasai, Adi Peruku etc. also take place during this time.

The first day of the month is commemorated by celebrating the Aadi festival and Aadi birth. As part of the festivities, women draw big kolams in front of their house while Golam is drawn on all days. Special dishes like payasam and vada are indispensable to the occasion and married women tie a yellow string around their thaalis.

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