The LPG shortage has cast a shadow on the ongoing Panguni Peruvizha at Kapaleeswarar Temple in Mylapore, with many caterers not accepting orders for distribution as part of annadhanam and those who have are tweaking their menu, populating it only with items that take minimal time for coking. They are also resorting to firewood cooking.
The 10-day festival began on March 23 and annadhanam (free food) counters around the Mada Streets put up by devotees is a way of giving back to their Lord. Those who have been to the festival point out the number of counters are lower than they were in previous years, at least going by the response in the last four days.
This is the third year that the Station Vigilance Committee (SVC), a voluntary group assisting the police in managing crowds during the festival, is participating in annadhanam, with sambar idli and ice cream brought into the menu.
The volunteers had put up a tough search for a caterer who would cook on firewood. “On March 25, we distributed 5,000 sambar idlis, with idlis prepared from a kitchen in Thoraipakkam and sambar from Keelkatalai,” says G.G. Sivakumar, volunteer with SVC and coordinator, Nithya Pushpakainkaryam at Sri Kapaleeswarar Temple.
