Preparatory steps for celebrating the Navarathri Music festival at the Navarathri Mandapam started in Suchindram temple of Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu today.<br />''<br />''The idols of Suchindram Munnutti Mangai, Velimalai Murugan as well as the Saraswathi idol from Padmanabhapuram Palace are taken in procession to the Navarathri mandapam in the Thairuvananthapuram city of Kerala. The music festival is usually performed in front of the Saraswathi idol.<br />''<br />''As a prelude to this, the Munnutti Mangai idol was taken to Padmanabhapuram, near Thackaly in Kanyakumari today with the accompaniment of armed guards as per tradition.<br />''<br />''The idols will be brought back after the Navarathri Music festival concludes and the Festival of Letters – Vijayadasami – is celebrated on October 26th.<br />''<span style="color: #222222;"><br />''Against the back ground of Covid 19 pandemic, the festival is being conducted following strict standards of social distancing, hand hygiene and compulsory usage of masks.</span><br />