Lakhs of woman are taking part in the famed Attukal Pongala festival in the Kerala capital Thiruvananthapuram. Incidentally, the present festival on Tuesday, March 7, is taking place after a gap of two years following the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year's event was held amid tight protocols, with very few participants, compared to the past. Listed in the Guinness world records for the largest number of women participating in a single day to offer prayers, this festival is gaining more popularity with more devotees, even from other religions taking part.
The temple located in the heart of the city is dedicated to Attukal Bhagavathi, believed to be an incarnation of Kannaki, the central character of the Tamil epic "Silappadikaram". The pongala event takes place on the penultimate day of the 10-day-long Attukal Pongala festival. The most prestigious seat for cooking is in the temple compound, but those get reserved at least three to four days prior to the event.
According to old timers, the second best place is a few kilometres away from the Attukal temple and it's on the roads that lead to the now very popular Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple after it was found to have a treasure worth more than Rs one lakh crore. Temple authorities have said that like the pre-COVID time, this time it has been a record gathering and is estimated to run into several lakhs as women were found cooking in more than 10 square kilometre radius from the temple.
The rituals begin around 10.30 am, when the chief priest of the famous Attukal Bhagavathi Temple lights a makeshift stove with fire brought from the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. The fire the priest lights is then passed on to the stoves of women who line up on either side of the roads and cook their offering using rice, jaggery and coconut.
The women who take part in this festival dress up in brand new clothes. "I am a strong devotee of the Devi and this is one day that I always wait eagerly for. Was deeply sad that I could not make it in the past two years and now I feel excited and really happy as my kiln has been lit and the cooking for the Devi has begun," said Lekshmi, a homemaker.
The highlight of this event is women from all religions take active part as the former actor Annie, wife of popular director Shaji Kailas, is engaged in the festival at the courtyard of her home in Thiruvananthapuram. "This time I decided to do it here, as I want the presence of my mother who was always present, is now not around," said Annie, as Kailas watched his wife engaged in cooking.
According to legend, Kannaki destroyed Madurai in Tamil Nadu after the king of Madurai wrongfully imposed the death penalty on her husband. After that, Kannaki travelled to Kerala, where she rested for a while at Attukal and women are said to have cooked pongala to please her.
The festival comes to a close around 2.30 pm, when the women wait for the chief priest to spray holy water on the offering and for this the temple has authorised numerous priests to go around the places where the women have cooked theirs. Once this is done, after a small prayer, the women pack their bags and return to their homes. The state government has given a holiday for all establishments in the capital district to enable the festivities to go smoothly and the state owned transport department and the Indian Railways have made special arrangements for the travellers.
All across the streets, clubs, organisations, auto and taxi drivers are engaged in distribution of free food during the day including breakfast, vegetarian lunch, juice, tea and snacks.