The sacred Ayyappa Pooja Festival continues to be observed with deep devotion and a series of religious and cultural programmes at various Ayyappa temples across Mumbai and its suburbs.
At the Airoli Ayyappa Temple in Navi Mumbai, the celebrations feature bhagavati seva at 6.20 am, followed by a Bharatanatyam performance by Kanakasabha at 7.00 pm. This will be followed by Bhagavatha Parayanam, , dance performances by Manjiradhwani at 8 pm concluding with annadhanam. A Sampoorna Narayaneeyam recitation will be conducted tomorrow at 10 am.. For more details contact on 98202 32687.
Meanwhile, the Palghar Ayyappa Temple is hosting the Mandala Pooja festival, from tomorrow early morning at 4.30 am. The rituals include Ganapati Homam, Navagraha Puja and Rudrabhishekam, followed by Annadanam at 12.30 pm. Evening programmes feature Bhagavathi Seva at 5 pm, Deeparadhana, Sarppabali, and Annadanam at 9 pm. The next day’s rituals commence with Nirmalyam at 4.30 am and Vigneshwara havan, followed by a procession from the laxmi Narayana Temple with Thalapoli and Panchavadyam at 6.30 pm, concluding with Harivarasanam at 9.30 pm.
In Mumbai city, the Bangur Nagar Ayyappa Temple is also witnessing vibrant celebrations. Bhagavatha Saptaham in the morning, bhajan by seva sangham at 5pm and kathakali by Kalamandalam Ravikumar and team at 6.30 pm are the line up for today and various rituals followed by a devotional orchestra programme from 7 pm onwards are the highlights of tomorrow.
The ongoing Ayyappa Puja Festival celebrations across Mumbai reflect the strong spiritual bond of devotees, marked by prayer, music, classical arts and community participation.