Ashraf Padanna
Thiruvananthapuram
Nikita Yadav
BBC News, Delhi
Vivek Nair
The devotees draw ornate wooden tanks carrying idols of the temple along a stretch of 2 km from the airport track
For a few hours by a hot day in April, Jets stopped and the silence recovered the sky over Thiruvananthapuram international airport, the capital of the southern India in Kerala.
The airport closure was not due to bad weather or a technical problem, as you could suppose, but to make room for a Hindu temple procession that works just on its track.
The devotees draw decorated woods carrying idols from the temple along a 2 km section (1.2 mile) of the track, a tradition so venerated that it stops operations for a few hours at the airport, which generally manages 90 landings and takeoffs daily. The elephants, a common part of Hindu religious events in India, also walk on the track.
The event, which took place last Friday, is part of the annual Painkuni festival organized by the famous Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple, which houses treasures of rupees.
Vivek Nair
The procession has crossed the airport since its construction in 1932
The procession, released on the last day of the 10 -day festival, begins at the temple and heads for the track to Shanghumugham beach, about 6 km.
When the procession arrives at the beach, the priests give a ritual bath in the sea to idols. The return trip follows the same route, crossing the track again and reaching the temple.
The procession is led by the head of the former royal family of work, which built the airport in 1932. It is not clear when the festival and the procession started, but the ritual has been followed since then, even when the management of the airport has increased to government and then to a private company.
The airport is currently managed by Adani Airport Holdings LTD, belonging to the group of billionaire Gautam Adani.
The airport also closes operations for a few hours for a similar procession during the ALPASHI festival in the Temple, generally in October or November of each year.
Thiruvananthapuram International Airport is one of the few airports in the world that closes for a religious event. Others include Ngurah Rai Indonesian Airport during the Balinese New Year and Ben -Gurion airport in Israel on Yom Kippour, which is the most sacred day in Judaism.
But these are holidays when the airport stops entirely and it is rare that a high security track is used to really facilitate a religious or cultural event.
Vivek Nair
The procession is led by the head of the former royal family of work
Rahul Bhatkoti, airport director, said the airport was proud to have the possibility of preserving the heritage of the temple procession.
“It is probably the only airport in the world that facilitates such a historic event,” he told the BBC before the procession entered the aerodrome on Friday evening.
Since the airport has only one track, the national and international terminals are closed during the procession.
Most international flights operating here are towards and since the Middle East, where a large number of Indian workers, many of which in Kerala, Live and Work.
Airport authorities said they had informed the airlines of closing two months in advance and that 10 flights had been postponed to the day.
“The procession begins around 4:45 p.m., local time and takes about four hours to finish,” said Mahesh Balachandran, the temple executive officer at the BBC.
Participation in the event is limited and strictly monitored.
Vivek Nair
The SREE Padmanabha Swamy temple is a secular sanctuary in Thiruvananthapuram
Only the high members of the royal family, the priests, the civil servants and the selected faithful are authorized to participate, and they must have special allowances issued by the Trust temple, as well as the security authorization of the airport authorities.
“The procession goes through the airport with ritualist vigor completes twice a year during the Painkuni and Alpashi festivals,” said Balachandran. “It takes place peacefully, without any incident. Everything is meticulously planned.”
The central industrial security force, the paramilitary that manages the safety of the airport, barricade the entire track for safety and manages the crowd.
“We are also monitoring the crowd through surveillance cameras. After the procession, the track is inspected to ensure security and security,” said Mahesh Gupthan, airport business communications director.
The procession that crosses the airport is a reminder of the way in which “heritage and modernity coexist here, each year,” wrote the deputy for Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor, after last week’s procession.
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