Bhagavatha Mela
The main tourist attraction of Melattur are the Bhagavatha Melas, a series of festivities that mark the festival of Narasimha Jayanthi or the birth of Lord Narasimha. The Bhagavatha Melas comprise dramas and dance performances. The dialogues and songs are mostly in Telugu.
The earliest recorded celebration of the Bhagavatha Mela was in the year 1888. However, the mela has been held uninterruptedly only since 1938. In earlier times, the Mela used to be held in the five nearby villages of Soolamangalam, Saliyamangalam, Nallur, Oothukadu and Teperumanallur apart from Melattur. But nowadays, the mela is held only in Melattur, Tepperumanallur and Saliyamangalam.
The mela is held for a week during which the dramas Kamsa Vadham, Sathya Harischandra, Hari Hara Leela Vilasam and Sita Kalyanam are enacted. The drama Sathya Harischandra based on the story of Harishchandra is so replete with expression that it occasionally moves one to tears. The melas culminate with the drama Prahlada Charitram enacted on Narasimha Jayanthi. The highlight of the drama is the climax scene in which the actor playing the part of Narasimha supposedly becomes possessed by the spirit of Narasimha and charges at Hiranyakashyap in murderous rage. The actor in the role of Narasimha had to be restrained by bodyguards at the venue for this purpose.
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