[1] It is famous for its annual festival of transgender individuals, which takes fifteen days in the Tamil month of Chitrai (April/May).

[4] During the 14th day of the festival, the women dress in their finest and arrive at the Koothandavar temple to become symbolic brides of the deity Aravan.

[5] Priests officiate the marriages as proxies for Aravan by tying thaalis around their necks and applying kumkum on their foreheads.

On the 16th day, the image of Aravan is repainted and paraded during the festival throughout the village until the deity reaches the mourning grounds, where the brides become widows and wear white sarees, remove their thaalis and break their bangles to spend a day as widows, mourning the death of Aravan.

[6] Throughout the festival NGOs spread awareness towards the high HIV rates within the transgender community in India and run testing centers.

The priests usually act as Aravan's representatives, tying the thali around the bride's neck and performing some of the things that symbolize marriage in Hinduism.

Their attire is usually white sarees, but the dress code is temporary and transgender widows can still wear bright colors after the ceremony.

[3] The transgender people who are kicked out are often forced to resort to things like sex work and bar dancing in order to support themselves.

A large part of the festival's message is to get rid of the stigma towards the transgender community to then ultimately lower the number of HIV infections.

One of these organizations is the Tamil Nadu AIDS Initiative which helps stop the spread of HIV through education on safe sex practices.