ALL THE WAY FROM CHENNAI TO SABARIMALA ON FOOT

It was a moment of bliss for Anantha Padmanabhan who reached Sabarimala on foot all the way from Chennai on Monday.

This is the 21st time Mr. Padmanabhan is undertaking his annual pilgrimage from Chennai to Sabarimala on foot. This time, he had adopted a more severe penance of conducting ‘Namaskara Padayatra’ to the holy hillock from the foothills of Pampa.‘Namaskara padayatra’It took about 15 hours for the Guruswami from Chennai to complete the unique Namaskara Padayatra by prostrating at every step all along the five-kilometre stretch of the Pampa-Sannidhanam path, according to Ganesh and Kashi Viswanathan, two members of the team of devotees.

They told The Hindu that Mr. Padmanabhan had conducted his Sabarimala pilgrimage from Varanasi on foot in 2012 with a message emphasising the importance of keeping Sabarimala clean.

Mr. Ganesh said the Guruswami, along with his 14 disciples, set off from Chennai on December 25. They reached Pampa via Villupuram, Tiruchirapalli, Dindigul, Kambom, Kumily, Erumely, and Karimala, covering nearly 750 km, on January 8.

Strictly sticking on to the traditions of Sabarimala pilgrimage, Mr Padmanabhan and his team decided not to carry any modern gadgets such as mobile phones.

His son, A.R .Ayyappan, is also accompanying Mr. Padmanabhan.