Valla Sadya: Lord Krishna's b'day feast

Aranmula Sree Parthasarathy temple is a major center of worship in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India.

Dedicated to Lord Krishna, the temple is famous for the annual Uthrattathi boat race held on the river Pampa.

Valla Sadya (in Malayalam, Vallam means boat and sadya, the feast) is an important event held at the temple on the eve of Ashtami Rohini, the birthday of Lord Krishna.

On this auspicious day, different kinds of traditional boats reach the temple in large numbers. The feast is an offering by the devotees to the prime deity. 

The oarsmen sing traditional Vanchippattu (songs for boats) en route to the temple. After reaching the temple, they ceremoniously walk round the shrine and the feast follows.

The feast is a grand one with more than forty traditional Kerala delicacies. An interesting thing about the feast is that the guests demand more food by singing in the Vanchippattu style.