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style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">Dussehra celebrations are on in full swing across the country. While the festivities may go by different names in different states, the fervour and enthusiasm remain the same.

style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">Goddess Durga is worshipped in West Bengal, whereas it is Devi Chamundeswari I Karnataka. Gujarat celebrates with the colourful Dandiya Raas and Golu dolls find a special place in homes across Tamil Nadu.

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style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">Located 20 km from Tiruchendur in Tuticorin district, this quaint village comes alive during the 10-day Dussehra festivals. Over 15 lakh devotees visit the temple every year.

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Anand, 42, a businessman from Madurai, who has been visiting the temple for the last 30 years, says that the popularity of the temple has grown tremendously over the years.

I remember visiting the temple for the first time when I was around 11, with my grandmother. In those days, the temple was not as big or as popular.

&Today, huge mandapams have been built to accommodate the ever-increasing crowds.

The Amman in the temple is very powerful; she can make all your wishes come true.

He says people also visit the temple to pray for relief from various illnesses. The mentally challenged and the handicapped find relief and solace in the temple.

More recently, the temple has become a popular tourist destination. People travelling to Kanyakumari or Tirunelveli stop here for a visit.

The temple history goes back thousands of years. Says Korkei Sivamani, a research scholar, studying temples in the area. During the reign of the Pandya king Kulasekara Pandian, Kulasekharapattinam developed as a port town and trade flourished.

The king set up an akkasalai (coin minting unit) in the town and plenty of goldsmiths resided in the area. It was their custom to pray that they considered their deity. The deity had no form during that period.

It was only much later, in the 1900s, due to the efforts of Siddhar Ayyadurai (a saint) that the idol of the present deity came into being;

Dussehra began to be celebrated in the temple in the early 19th century.

A unique feature of the celebrations in this temple is that devotees visit the temple in an avatar of their choice. They could be dressed as kings or beggars, monkeys or demons, but the more popular are different forms of the Devi.

Sivamani says the reason for this is that normally during Navratri, most homes in Tamil Nadu display Golu dolls.

The theory is that God can be found in any form, or rather, that God resides in every form, however humble.

They believe that during Dussehra, God will come to their home in some form and bless them. This very same idea is followed in principle at the Mutharamman Temple. But instead of dolls, we have real people.

He further added that once in costume, the devotees have to beg for alms to sustain themselves.

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