The portals of the Lord Ayappa temple at Sabarimala in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district opened for devotees for the annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku festivals, marking the beginning of the two-month long annual pilgrimage season. The Chief priest (Melsanthi) opened the sanctum sanctorum of the temple priest in the presence of the thantri of the temple, and lit the lamp at the hill shrine today. The 41-day Mandala season begins today with the start of the month of Vrishchikam of Malayalam calendar and will end on December 27.i Lve booking facilities have been set up for the devotees, who could not book their darshan slots via online mode. K Jayaraman Namboothiri took charge as Sabarimala’s chief priest, and Hariharan Namboothiri took over charge as chief priest of the Malikappuram temple. For the last two years, COVID protocols had been scaled back to ensure adherence to pandemic protocols but with restrictions removed. According to K Rajan, Revenue minister the authorities expect at least 40 lakh devotees to visit the shrine this year. Subsequently the shrine will be closed on January 20, concluding the pilgrim season.