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ASI explored 293 sites along the Vaigai valley before selecting Keeladi, which is what turned this river into an archaeological story as well as a religious one.
The Chithirai festival's climax happens in the riverbed: Kallazhagar enters the Vaigai on a golden horse vahanam and gives his gifts from a mandapa in mid-river rather than entering the city.
The river Madurai is built beside, and the reason the Pandya capital and the Keeladi settlement are both here. Seasonal and often dry through much of the year, which surprises visitors expecting a Ganga-scale river.