The air in Kulasekarapattinam is alive with sound on the day of Vijayadasami, the 10th day of Navarathiri. The beat of naiyandi melam rises above the crowd, cries echo through the night, and in that moment, the devotees are no longer themselves. Their bodies tremble, eyes glaze, and for a brief time they have become the Goddess they worship.
This is Dasara in Kulasekarapattinam, an ancient Pandya port town that transformed into a stage of devotion.
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