Dressed in bright yellow or saffron robes, devotees performing kavadiyattam smear vibhoothi or sacred ash all over their body. Each one carries on his shoulder an ornate Kavadi - a huge bow, richly decorated with peacock feathers, (it is believed that the peacock is the vehicle of Sree Subramanya). Kavadiyattam literally means dance carrying a kavadi which can each rise to a height of six feet to 10 feet and some even to as high as 18 feet and each with its own significance. A Pookavadi is one decorated with brightly colored artificial flowers, a mayilpeeli kavadi decorated using only peacock feathers and ambalakavadi, one shaped like the gopuram (tower) of a temple. The make-up and dressing is less exuberant and more stylised. A trip to Kerala to see this will be a memory to cherish forever.