Velankanni Festival and MADHA koil

Velankanni Madha Festival during on August and september month.

Every year velankanni Madha festival starts at 29 th of august and ends with hoisting the matha flag at 8 th september.Thats this year also 2010, that velankanni matha festival starts at 29 th of august. Our lady of Good Health, popularly called "Our Lady of Vailankanni" is in the small town of Vailankanni (5000 residents) located on the shores of the Bay of Bengal. It is located 150 miles south of Madras in Tamil Nadu and 5 miles south of Nagapattinam. Our lady chose this place to dispense her miracles to mankind. A strong oral tradition attests to Our Lady’s apparitions at Vailankanni(Velankanni). The tradition is built around the following three significant events:

Impacts of Swine flu
For the one lakh Catholics in Pune, the feast of Our Lady of Velankanni will not be celebrated with the same gusto and entho this year.

The festival, celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of Mother Mary — mother of Jesus Christ, will be held from August 29 to September 8. But in the wake of 13 swine flu deaths in the city, this time processions and other forms of celebration have been cancelled. For the Bishop’s house in Pune, it was a hard decision to make but one that was necessary. One of the major events — the feast of our lady of Velankanni — for the first time will not be celebrated at the Wanavdi chapel, St Francis De Sales church at Shaanwadi and St Ignatius church at Khadki. Instead, the novenas and prayers will now be held at St Patrick’s cathedral from August 29 to September 8 - the day of the anniversary.

“It is with a heavy heart that we have to take this decision,” Father Malcolm Sequeira, parish priest at St Patrick’s cathedral and spokesperson for the Diocese of Poona, said. For the one lakh strong Catholic community in Pune, it will now be novena and celebrations at the cathedral. There will also be no erection of huge pandals and no food (as prasad) will be distributed this year, Father Malcolm said. Processions will also not be taken out for the first time


Temples are place a main role in our indian culture India is famous for culture and religional functions.Especially in south, Tripati Balaji temple and vailankanni Church and Nagore darga are prestigious events..

VELANKANNI IN NAGAI DISTRICT

Velankanni can be traced to the mid-16th century and is attributed to three miracles: the apparition of Mary and the Christ Child to a slumbering shepherd boy, the curing of a lame buttermilk vendor, and the rescue of Portuguese sailors from a violent sea storm.


Although all three apparitions resulted in the erection of a shrine to our Lady, it was the promise of the Portuguese sailors that caused a permanent edifice to be built at Velankanni. The chapel was dedicated on the feast of the Nativity of Mary (September 8), the day of their safe landing. More than 500 years later, the nine-day festival and celebration is still observed and draws nearly 2 million pilgrims each year. The Shrine of Our Lady of Vailankanni, also known as the "Lourdes of the East," is one of the most frequented religious sites in India. Vailankanni church (Our Lady of Good Health) was built in the late 16th century CE with modifications by Portuguese and further expansions later on due to influx of pilgrimages.

The Gothic style of architecture is a unique feature of the church. The church itself is an imposing building with inspiring architecture. While the buildings have been painted white, roof of the church is made by the tiles with striking red in contrast to the colour of the walls. The environment around the shrine is spick and span radiating rays of hope and piety.

As a token of gratitude to Mother Mary, Portuguese sailors who escaped from a severe cyclone, built the chapel 24 feet to 12 feet with a dome overhead. In their possible subsequent visits, perhaps they brought porcelain plates, which could be seen even now illustrating bible scenes and other cultural arts of the time, to beautify the Church they had built earlier. The main statue that they had brought to the altar of the Shrine was Our Lady holding the Baby Jesus, standing majestically on the globe. In the year 1771, Vailankanni acquired the status of a Parish with Fr. Antonio de Rozario as the First Parish Priest. Vailankanni church was raised to the status of basilica in 1962 by His Holiness Pope John XXIII.

velankanni Madha church

           Festivals are celebrated here with all pomp and gaiety. Every year on August 29th the feast of our lady commences with the hoisting of the flag and on the 10th day it ends after the dismounting of the flag. A conservative estimate of the crowd is around 1.5 million on these days (Fifteen hundred thousands). Hotels and houses will be overcrowded during these days and people used to sleep in the open air. Holy masses are conducted in at least eight languages, Tamil, English, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Konkani, Hindi and Marathi.

The Government, for security duty of the feast sends a contingent of 500 police officers, 10 DSPs, 25 Inspectors, 40 SISs and 60 women police. Over and above the Shrine spends enormous amount of money in deploying additional watchmen, sweepers and other work force. A sizable sum is also spent in supplying potable water, and keeping the place clean.
christians
Beach

Tsunami 2004
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake.[3][4] The resulting tsunami itself is given various names, including the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Asian Tsunami, Indonesian Tsunami, and Boxing Day Tsunami.

The earthquake was caused by subduction and triggered a series of devastating tsunami along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean, killing nearly 230,000 people in eleven countries, and inundating coastal communities with waves up to 30 meters (100 feet) high. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand were the hardest hit.

With a magnitude of between 9.1 and 9.3, it is the second largest earthquake ever recorded on a seismograph. This earthquake had the longest duration of faulting ever observed, between 8.3 and 10 minutes. It caused the entire planet to vibrate as much as 1 cm (0.4 inches) and triggered other earthquakes as far away as Alaska.

Nagore Darka
Ettukudi Murugan Temple
Delta District Nagapattinam

VELANKANNI CHURCH

Velankanni (Tamil:வேளாங்கன்னி,Meaning:Virgin of Velai,the town), also known as Vailankanni or "Velanganni", is a panchayat town in Nagapattinam district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a small town located on the shores of the Bay of Bengal 350 km south of Chennai (Madras) and 12 km south of Nagapattinam on the Coromandel Coast, in Tamil Nadu, India.

Once a port that traded with Rome and Greece, the tiny commercial center gradually lost its importance to the larger Nagapattinam. The canal built to link that city with Vedaranyam still lies to the west of Vailankanni. The Vellayar, a minor branch of the Cauvery River, runs on the south of the village and flows into the sea.

The site of an important Roman Catholic shrine dedicated to Our lady of Good Health and hence known as Mecca of South Asian Christianity.[1] Vailankanni was one of the worst hit areas in the tsunami that followed the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
velankanni is one of the most taken pilgrimages in India. Situated amidst shores of Bay of Bengal, Velankanni is a picturesque town. The city is famous for the shrine Basilica that is dedicated to 'Lady of health'. The shrine draws pilgrims from all faiths and from all over the world. It has not came as a surprise that the Pope has declared Velankanni, a holy city.

This Roman Catholic Church has an extended Basilica, which has two floors where one can find the statue of Jesus Christ. The Gothic style of architecture is a unique feature of the Church. The environment around the shrine is spick and span, radiating rays of hope and piety. There is also a shrine of 'lady of sorrow' where in the sorrowing Mother is depicted carrying infant Jesus in her hand.


MuseumA museum is situated opposite to the Basilica. The museum has a very rich variety of exhibits. The precious offerings made by the devotees are also on display here. Biblical incidents are depicted on both sidewalls with beautifully produced frescos. The annual carnival is celebrated here with all pomp and gaiety every year on August 29th.How to Reach Velankanni

By Air
Nearest airport is Tiruchirappali that is 165 kilometers. It is well connected to rest of India.

By Rail/Train
Nearest railway station is Nagapattinam that is near about 12 kilometers. Nagapattinam in turn is well connected to all major cities in India via Chennai and Tiruchirapalli.

By Road
Velankanni is connected to all the major towns and cities in and around Tamilnadu. Regular bus services are available to Chennai, Madurai, Trichy, Kanyakumari, Thanjavur and Pondicherry etc.
source:http://www.bharatonline.com

Hotels Facilities in Velankanni:

Velankanni Madha Temple has the good Boarding and Lodging Facility.So many Hotels are available in Velankanni include Church management Lodges. 

Hotel Picnic and seagate church view resorts in Vailankanni and Hotel Golden Sand in Nagapattinam. All two hotels and a resort in velankanni are very close to church, beach, bus stand and railway station. Hotel seagate and seagate resorts are having direct church view from the hotel itself. All the hotels have restaurants attached to it and all the rooms have television and hot water facility. All hotels have ample parking space and they are surrounded by garden.

velankanni church - 5 minutes walk
velankanni beach - 10 minutes walk
velankanni bus stand - 2 minutes walk
velankanni Railway station - 3 minutes walk

Hotel Clinton Park Inn, Velankanni - Welcome to Best Three Star Hotel in Velankanni having international standard facilities. This hotel has fifty eight rooms consists of both air conditioned and non air conditioned rooms also.

Hotel VPN Residency, Velankanni has 64 rooms, very luxurious hotel, having extra ordinary facilities, excellent restaurant, spacious parking spaces.

Hotel MGM Vailankanni Residency, Velankanni - Welcome to MGM Vailankanni Residency. Set in the busy pilgrim centre of Velankanni, our resort is a sought after retreat for regular visitors to the shrine as well as business travellers. It is a serene, salubrious and charming destination offering top notch resort services to guests and diners.

Hotel Picnic, Velankanni. - is one of the luxurious hotels in Velankanni. It was started in the year 1985. It is very close to Church and Bus Stand. This hotel is known for its Kerala Restaurant.

Seagate resorts, Velankanni are surrounded by beautiful park and garden. Each resort consists of two well furnished a/c bed rooms with attached bathroom and very spacious dining room, drawing room and kitchen.

Hotel Golden Sand, Velankanni offers distinctive services and amenities, along with exemplary all round excellence in Velankanni...

Velankanni Lake Resort is the only back water resort in Tamilnadu. It is located on the main road of ECR. This fun filled resort has been built to fulfill the visitors enjoyment.