Every year, during Karthigai Deepam, the task of lighting up the tank at Sri Kapali Temple, Mylapore is taken up by the members of Thiruvasaga Thirusabhai. This group, mainly consisting of volunteers, has been active for more than two decades.
Srikanth, a volunteer says, “We have been doing it since 2002. About 20 of us got together this year, we used more than 5000 lamps”.
Explaining the process, he says, “We first set up the lamps on the steps of the tank a little before 5 p.m. Once that is done, we add the wicks and the oil and then start the process of lighting the lamps. The whole process takes about two hours.
The lamps, he says, were sourced from Virudhachalam.
G. Ramesh, another volunteer, says, “Our group consists of mostly middle aged men and women. Most of them have full time jobs in the morning. We have a few college going youngsters in our group too. During important festivals, we assemble at the temple to help out”.
He continues, “Every year, the placement of the lamps is decided by the wind condition at that time and the number of volunteers”.
This year, after the three day event which began on Nov 22, many volunteers pitched in on Sunday to remove the lamps from the tank steps, he adds.
