Devotees fear the Kandasashti festival held at the Kandakottam temple

Devotees of the Sri Muthukumaraswamy temple, popularly known as Kandhakottam at Rattan Bazaar in Park Town, are worried about the conduct of the Kandasashti festival this year.

“Tickets for Laksharcharnai during the annual festival are usually sold just after Vijayadasami. Till date, the administration has not started selling the tickets. Every year, around 35,000 tickets, priced at ₹ 300 each, are sold to devotees who want to attend the archanai, which is scheduled to begin on November 10,” said AB no sign of Sáriniva’s behavior yet, a 65-year-old devotee.

Saravanan, another devotee, said this year will be the 99th consecutive year of the Kandasashti festival, during which grand concerts will be held. “Archanai participants would be given prasadam including a bucket. Tenders for procurement of various items like pandals, coconuts, bags and flowers are yet to be called. We heard that the executive officer has gone on leave and another person has taken over,” he said.

The more than 500-year-old shrine is a schematic temple, meaning it belongs to a particular community – in this case the Berri Chettis. Last year, a five-member team was selected from the community as administrators, who were also in charge of the day-to-day management of the temple.

Sendilvellan, one of the trustees, said the executive officer took away the check signing powers of the trustees and the trustees were unable to even pay their salaries. “He went to the bank and took over the signatory powers without informing us. We seem to have absolutely no powers in the day-to-day running of the temple. The court ordered the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department to intervene only if there is any problem related to the conduct of the temple. We have been managing the temple since last year without any problem,” he said.

Another administrator said that with only a few days left until the festival, they are running from post to post trying to regain their strength and manage it. Sources in the HR&CE department said they will look into the matter.

Published – November 1, 2026 0:57 AM IST