THRISSUR : Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered prayers at Kerala’s famous Lord Krishna temple in Guruvayur on Wednesday.
PM Modi, who arrived in Kochi on Tuesday evening for on a two-day visit to the state participated in the marriage ceremony of the actor and former MP Suresh Gopi’s daughter at the Guruvayur Sree Krishnaswamy temple in Thrissur this morning.
He also interacted with leading actors of Malayalam cinema, including Mohanlal, Mamootty, Jayaram and Dileep who were present on the occasion. The Prime Minister also met and blessed the other brides and grooms whose marriages were also solemnised at the temple this morning.
The Prime Minister was seen wearing the traditional Kerala attire, a ‘mundu’ (dhoti) and ‘veshti’ (a shawl covering the upper body) while offering prayers at the temple.
Guruvayur temple is dedicated to Lord Guruvayurappan (Lord Krishna) and is a significant place of worship for Hindus in Kerala.
He was welcomed by the Devaswom office bearers by giving a ‘Poorna kumbham’ (a pitcher with sacred water adorned with flowers). It is a traditional way of welcoming guests in temples and similar places.
During his temple visit, PM Modi also attended the wedding of actor and BJP leader Suresh Gopi’s daughter, Bhagya Suresh.
The wedding was held at the Kalyana Mandapam in the temple’s ‘nadapanthal’ (a huge concrete shed in front of the temple).
PM Modi handed over the garlands to the couple initiating the wedding.
The wedding was attended by major film actors from the south including Mammootty, Mohanlal, Khusbhoo Sundar, Jayaram, Biju Menon, Parvathy, and Dileep, among several others.
Before leaving the venue, PM Modi clicked pictures with the couple and greeted the guests at the wedding.
The Prime Minister also blessed several other couples whose weddings were also held today at the Guruvayur temple.
PM Modi earlier in the day visited Triprayar Sree Ramaswamy Temple in Thrissur and offered prayers there.
The Triprayar temple is one of the prominent temples in the state with Lord Ram as the main deity.
It is believed that the deity worshipped here possesses some of the aspects of Shiva too. It was after killing the asura, Khara that Sri Rama got both the Shaiva and Vaishnava aspects. Thus Triprayar Thevar is also called Khara Samhara Moorthy.
PM Modi watched the cultural performances organised at the Sree Ramaswamy Temple. He also felicitated the artistes who performed the Ramayan at the temple.
Earlier as the Prime Minister arrived in Kerala on Tuesday night he received a warm welcome from Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, MoS V Muraleedharan and BJP leader Prakash Javadekar at the Cochin International Airport in Nedumbassery.
PM Modi held a grand roadshow in Kochi on Tuesday which was attended by thousands of supporters. BJP state president K Surendran accompanied the Prime Minister on board his motorcade for the roadshow.
During his visit to the state, PM Modi will inaugurate three major infrastructure projects worth more than Rs. 4,000 crores, viz., the New Dry Dock (NDD) at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL); the International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF) of CSL; and the LPG Import Terminal of Indian Oil Corporation Limited at Puthuvypeen, Kochi, a release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office stated.
With the commissioning of these three projects, the nation’s shipbuilding and repair capacities, as well as the growth of energy infrastructure, including ancillary industries, will get a boost.
This is the second visit of the PM to Kerala in two weeks. (ANI)