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Shankumugham Beach is one of my favorite places to bicycle to when I am in the mood for a short ride. The beach is home to a few interesting structures, one among them being the “Aaraattu Mandapam.” The photograph above is the silhouette of that mandapam (or stone structure) during sunset. This historical structure plays a prominent role even today in Padmanabhaswamy Temple’s aaraattu festival. Aaraattu (or the holy bath) is the ritual in which the priest carries the deity with him and takes a dip in the sea. The mandapam, to the best of my knowledge, is now a heritage structure protected by the Archaeological Society of India.

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