Chennai: Thousands of persons gathered at beaches, river banks and water bodies across Tamil Nadu on Wednesday to perform the traditional ancestral rituals "pitru tharpanam" on "Aadi Ammavasai", the new moon day, to honor their departed. Major holy sites like Rameswaram and Kanyakumari, besides Chennai coastal areas and the Cauvery and Thamirabarani river banks saw huge crowds performing the rituals. Large crowds continued to visit the beach well past mid-morning, with police making arrangements to ensure smooth movement. In Chennai, large crowds converged along the Marina Beach, as well as the Mylapore Kapaleeswarar Temple tank, starting from the early hours of the morning. According to customs, the Ammavasai (new moon) days falling in the Tamil month Aadi, Thai, and Purattasi are considered sacred for ancestral rituals.