On Deepavali morning, Mahalakshmi gets a laddoo alankaram – just as in some temples, a laddoo ther is made and pulled on this day. When we reach, the puja is just going on, ambal in a white sari, spoon and pot in her hands (She is Annapurni), flowers over her, laddoos around her (in a “mandapa” that looks like it must just have been made for this purpose alone).
Evening is the Dhana Akarshana puja, which is the only time in the year when the Kuberan yantra is pulled out of its separate shrine and brought out to propitiate. It sits now in the middle of the Western nave, facing East. The little Mahalakshmi utsavar is out again, with a manja-vinayaka (made out of turmeric) out directly in front of her and a kalasam. 9 thonnais for the navagrahas on a stool in front. The Yantra is placed on a green cloth I’m not sure of the significance of, and a thinner thundu-like bordered piece lining its very top. Malas.
Kubera is traditionally associated with Pushya nakshatra (when the yantra abhishekam happens), and his role is not merely to bestow wealth but also to guard and distribute the treasures entrusted to him. There are mostly women present as usual, and they are seated in rows, but the ubhayakaras do the puja closest up and the rest of us participate from afar as it were.
The Iyer (Subramanian) holds a book with the title Sampradaya Vrata Puja Vidhanam, chapter on Sri Dhanakarshana, Sri Lakshmi Kubera Pujai. Subheads: Sodadha Matrugana Pujai, Ganapatyadi Pancha Loka Pala pujai (koorchatthil pujai seiyyavum). He chants, while those present “do”--which means offer flowers at intervals. I suppose there would have been a sankalpam, a vinayaka puja, a navagraha puja, and then only a Kuberan puja, archanai offered all along and at the end, finished with deeparadhanai and prasadam.