From the News Minute:
Dress code for a goddess? TN priest sacked for dressing idol in salwar-kameez The priest got creative and dressed the goddess in salwar-kameez with dupatta instead of the saree.
In a strange series of events, the temple priest from Mayiladuthurai’s Mayuranathaswami temple has been removed from service following a WhatsApp photo that went viral.
According to reports, Raj, who'd joined the temple service six months ago tohelp his father, decorated goddess Abhayambal, the presiding deity of thetemple, in salwar kameez - a traditional outfit from north India.
Following this, devotees were upset that the "sanctity" of the 1000-year-old idol has been tarnished because of the display. Speaking to TNM, temple manager Ganeshan says that temple authorities immediately decided to remove the said priest and his father from service.
The deity is adorned with sandalwood paste (sandhanakaapu) on Fridays. Only this time, going against the traditional saree, Raj decided to dress the goddess in salwar-kameez-dupatta, “The priest made a different pattern with the glitter paper used generally to dress her in a saree,” explains Ganeshan.
He added that without realising their "mistake", the duo had also captured an image of the deity to be later shared on WhatsApp. Raj joined the temple to assist his father who'd been working for a while as the priest.
On Friday, he dressed the deity in a pink kameez and blue salwar with a blue dupatta.The decision to expel was expedited by the Thiruvadheenam Aadheenam (Mutt) that also has about 27 other temples under its administrative control in Tamil Nadu.
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| Pink and Sparkly-Blue Friday
It is, however, not uncommon for temple priests to get creative with such decors. In January last year, following New Year celebrations, a small temple in Coimbatore district had decorated its deity with new Rs 2000 notes.
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oh my! this feels like another twisty story!
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