Sabarimala temple opened

PATHANAMTHITTA: The hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala was opened on Monday evening for the five-day monthly poojas for the Malayalam month of Thulam. Melsanthi Sasi Nampoothiri opened the sreekovil of the temple at 5.30 pm in the presence of Thantri Kandararu Maheswararu. As a practice, no ritual was held at the temple.MELSANTHI SELECTION TODAY The selection of new melsanthi for Sabarimala and Malikapuram temples will be held on Tuesday. The selection, by draw of lots, will be held at Sopanam after Ushapooja. Travancore Devaswom Board president M Rajagopalan Nair, members K Sicily and K V Padmanabhan, Devaswom Commissioner N Vasu and Special Commissioner S Jagadeesh will be present on the occasion.Installation ceremony on November 16Thantri Kandararu Maheswararu will perform the installation ceremony of the new Sabarimala melsanthi in front of the Sreekovil on November 16.  The new Sabarimala melsanthi will take charge, for a period of one year, on the first day of the Mandalam-Makaravilaku season beginning on November 17.