The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1922-12-02
STORY DIDN'T :
GET HEADLINE.
=
"Tiruvannamallai" Is Name Of
Place Where News "Broke"
and That's Reason.

IS CHIEF PILGRIM CENTER
Scene Of Recent Encounter Between
Indian Police and Mob Of 10000
Natives ls Described by
Geographic Society. ,-...s
Neutrality-suspicious. recent encounter
between British Indian police and a
mob of 10000 natives was not played
up" in American newspaper headlines.
The name Of the town where the dis
turbances occurred was
Truvannamallai.
"This town is one Of the chief pill
grim centers Of South India but Is lit
tie visited by Europeans" explains
!, bulletin from the Washington head
quarters of the National Geographic
society. 5"This ostracism is not be-
cause the occidental cannot pronounce
the name to ask his way, as one wag
suggests. Tiruvannamallai has 40
large chuttrams, or rest houses. while
the only provision for the foreigner is
small bungalow Of two rooms.
1.-TWO great festivals every year and
fair every Tuesday assure the gath
ering numbers of natives" the bull
letin continues. During the Kartigai
festival in November or December,
100000 pilgrims visit the finely carved
temple or climb the Holy Fire, Hill
which gives the town it's name. At
such times cholera frequently takes a
heavy toll and for many years attempts
have been made to improve the water
supply.
A Cross Roads Of Religion and Trade.
-Four roads meet at Tiruvannamal-
lai, three Of them crossing the alluvial
plain toward the north, south and east.
The fourth road carries a heavy traffic
over the Chengam Pass into the Salem
district. Thus the town Is not only q
famous religious center but an impor-
tant entrepot Of trade as we'll.
"South Arcot, the district in which
Tirumvannamallai is found, sweeps up
from the ,harborless Coromandel coast
fronting on the Bay Of Bengal to the
Eastern Chats, the hills which mark
the fall line between the plain and
the plateau, which drives SOUTH like
wedge from the Deccan and splits Mad
ras Presidency into two widely dis
similar regions. Great expanses Of re-
served forests clothe these hills and
the sandalwood and teak found there
form some of the most important as
bears, deer and wild hogs abound and
there are several favorite shooting
grounds near at hand.
When the Sun Went Out.
"But the main interest in Tiruvan-
namallai is the fire festival, whose in
ception recalls one Of the famous leg
ends connected with Hindu mythol-
ogy. Many ages ago, the legend runs,
silva, the destroyer, and his wife Par
vatl were wandering through Kailasa,
the Hindu paradise. It was the twi-
light hour and the flower garden In
which they strolled was filled with the
seductive perfumes of the East. In
a firtatious moment Parvati playfully
covered the eyes of her lord with her
shapely hands and drew the cody
head to her bosom. ..
"The time quickly passed for these
two wanderers in Elysium. But what
seemed but moment to them was a
period Of many years for the hapless
Inhabitants Of the world whose sun
and moon had thus been darkened.
When silva realized the hardship which
his wife's coquetry had caused, he
sent her forth to do penance at tho
various holy places with which the
southern portion Of India is dotted.
When she at last reached Tiruvan-
namallai, the famous Holy Fire Hill
Of South Arcot district, silva appeared
at the top Of the isolated peak, as q
sign that his wife's thoughtlessness
was forgiven.
"At the foot Of the hill, just outside
the chief town of the region, lies the
fine temple Of Hruvannamallai. It 10
to this place that the pilgrims flock on
the occasion of the festival which COM
memorates the reconciliation of their
chief god and goddess. The culminat-
ing feature OF the celebration is the
lighting by the priests Of beacon fire
on the summit Of the hill, which can
be seen for many miles throughout the
district.
camphor and Butter Feed Beacon.
$50 heavy is the rush Of pilgrims to
see the blaze on the summit that strict
police control is needed throughout
the 48 hours that the fire usually
burns. Camphor and clarified butter
or ghee, brought as offerings by the
pilgrims, make up large part Of the
fuel. The festival, which lasts for
ten days, ends with this sacriflcial
fire which commentaries the forgive
ness Of Parvati by silva and the re-
turn Of light to darkened world.
1.-THE large silva temple is among the
most interesting In South India, for
from the slopes Of the sacred noun
tain, which bushes red with the COM
ing Of the morning sun, one can look
down upon this typical Dravidian tenn
pie and see how, with the increasing
wealth Of the shrine, successive courts
were added around the central manda-
pam. The outer wall, embellished by,
n