Puttu is a unique dish prepared using ground rice and freshly grated coconut especially in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The annual puttu festival is held in Avani month at the Puttu Sokkanathar Temple in Madurai – Tamil Nadu. The festival usually falls on September 4 (date need to be confirmed with the temple).
It is believed that Shiva as Puttu Sokkanathar had appeared before an old lady who earned a living by selling puttu. Shiva had eaten all the puttu made by the old lady and granted her moksha.
The festival is held on the banks of Vaigai River at Arapalayam. Sokkar is another name of Mahadeva Shiva and is usually represented by a pair of feet embossed on a metal pedestal.
The festival is a major event as Madurai Meenakshi Amman and Shiva from Meenakshi Sundareshwar temple and Subrahmanya also with his consort Deivanai of Thiruparankundram temple participate in the festival. Both the temples remain closed when the puttu festival is held.
For the festival, devotees gather at the Puttu Thoppu on the southern banks of the Vaigai River and houses in the region prepare puttu and offer it to Shiva.