Hindu devotees participated in a colourful religious procession through Chennai on 27 July 2026 to mark the Aadi festival, the sacred Tamil month observed with community rituals and offerings to the goddess Mariamman.
A male Hindu devotee was seen with his cheeks pierced by a metal rod during the Aadi festival procession in Chennai on 27 July 2026 — a centuries-old vow ritual believed to honour the goddess and fulfil personal prayers.
A female Hindu devotee underwent the traditional cheek-piercing ritual — a metal rod passed through both cheeks — during the Aadi festival procession in Chennai on 27 July 2026, as part of a deeply personal religious vow.
A Hindu devotee underwent the cheek-piercing ritual with a metal rod during the Aadi festival in Chennai on 27 July 2026, reflecting the enduring tradition of bodily devotion observed each year in the Tamil month of Aadi.