Every year, a few days before the Navaratri celebrations, Kanniyakumari district, once part of the erstwhile Travancore, witnesses a spectacular event, whose history dates back to more than 200 years. It continues to remind the local people of the strong cultural bonds between Tamil Nadu and Kerala beyond political boundaries. Three deities — Goddess Saraswathi from the Thevarakattu (place of worship) of the Padmanabhapuram Palace, Lord Kumaraswamy of Kumarakoil, and Munnurrunankai Amman from Suchindram where the Thanumalayan Swamy Temple is situated — are carried to Thiruvananthapuram to take part in the Navaratri celebrations and music festival. Performing at the festival is considered a prestige by Carnatic musicians from Tamil Nadu in the past and the present.Started by Dharmaraja“The tradition was started by Dharmaraja, the successor of Marthanda Varma, the modern architect of Travancore, after he initiated the process of shifting the capital from Padmanabhapuram to Thiruvananthapuram in the 1770s, which was completed in 1795,” said A.K. Perumal, author of Thenkumariyin Kathai (The History of Kanniyakumari in the South).
The annual procession passing through the streets of Karamana in Thiruvananthapuram on September 22, 2025
