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Mahashivratri in Alwaye is a greatest festival of Lord Shiva, one of the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Celeberated with considerable fervour on the sandbanks of the Periyar river, it's an all-night festival filled with lights and chanting, best seeen either from a boat on the river or from the old palace, now a tourist bungalow, on the opposite bank. A fair springs up in Aluva catering to thousands of pilgrims who assemble here. A little before dawn gilds the flowing water of the river, devotees make offerings for the response of their ancestors' souls, many releasing floating oil lamps on the Periyar |
