Ganga Jatara, the folk festival of Tirupati, begins with the formal Chatimpu (announcement) around midnight of Tuesday. The Gangamma Jatara is a very famous local festival for the People of Tirupati. It is done every year in month of May. As the Gangamma temple was in banks of Thathaya gunta, the temple is famous as "Thathaya Gunta Gangamma Temple".
Priests performed the initiatory rituals and tied `Vadibalu' to the `Viswaroopa Sthambam' in front of the temple, that set the stage for the fete. Men making the `Chatimpu' roamed through the old town beating `dappus' to announce that the festival had begun and hence the residents should not leave the town till the festival is over.
Priests made the traditional huge clay idol of the goddess at the temple's portico. Every one during the festival come and pray the goddess by offers her Pongal, Sarees, Turmeric and kukuma etc.
During the last day of festival portico will be smashed it into pieces at the auspicious moment. Devotees then clamoured around to get the clay smithereens, which they consider as sacred, to be either preserved in the 'Puja' room or consumed by mixing it in water. Though there is a ban on animal sacrifice, goats and fowls were chopped at will at a corner of the temple.
This festival is being celebrated on May 13, 14 and 15 every year, in most of the areas in Chittoor district (like like Chittoor, Palamaner and Tirupati etc.), Andhra Pradesh, India.
