Thousands witness Somayagam

For once, the inferno spread no panic. Instead the milling crowd at North Malabar's first-ever 'Somayagam' here watched with devotion the flames go up under a bright Sun.
As the priests ceremonially torched the thatched roof of the holy huts in suburban Karaparamba in peak noon, the holy fire spread across the venue shortly after loud chants of mantras, concluding the week-long Vedic ritual organised by city-based Kasyapa Veda Research Foundation (KVRF).
"The ultimate goal behind the endeavour is to spread the message of global peace and welfare envisaged in our grand old sacred texts," said Acharya M R Rajesh, founder of the 2006-incepted KVRF.

"Let us not forget that the Somayagam had sidelights such as national-level seminars, a Vedic expo and book fair besides annadanam (free feast prepared out of KVRF-grown rice and vegetables) right from the start on February 13," he said.