Floating Festival :

The birth anniversary of Tirumala Nayak, the 17th century ruler of Madurai , is the day of the great Floating Festival at Madurai , one of the most famoustemple towns of South India . Temple deities, clothed in silk and decked withjewels and flowers, are taken in a grand procession to a large pool known as Mariamman Teppakulam. The deities are placed in a decorated float illuminated by hundreds of lamps. Music and chanting of hymns accompany the sacred barge.