I have spent my early childhood at Kerala, my home state. Besides being touted as the God’s own Country by the tourism industry over the last decade, Kerala to me symbolizes the land where God (and the Goddesses) come alive!
In this context, a temple that is really close to my heart is that of the Bhagavathy temple dedicated to the Supreme Goddess located at Trivandrum at a suburb known as 'Attukal'. During my childhood days, I used to travel to school in a shared auto rickshaw and we would frequently pass through the temple. Our auto uncle as we fondly referred to him (his real name is Ashokan!) used be gracious enough to let us have a quick visit to the temple on some rare occasions, while making sure that we reached our school still well before time!
A celebration that’s really fresh in my memory is the ‘Atttukal Pongala Mahotsavam’ – the annual festival at the temple. It’s colloquially referred to as the ‘Pongala’ – meaning Sweet porridge!
The week preceding the festival, the city, especially the area around the temple, used to take on a different character. Temporary shops sprang up along the streets with peddlers selling garments, earthenware, ice creams, snacks, and toys besides whole lot of other merchandize. Malls were unheard of, so were traffic jams! Devotional songs blared out from a public-address system, drowned at times by the loud boom of exploding firecrackers – an offering peculiar to this temple.
Over the years, the festival has grown into one of the most important community festivals of the state that the day of the 'pongala' is a holiday, with many parts of the city closed to vehicular traffic. What sets Attukal Pongala apart from other community gatherings is that it is believed to be the largest `women-only' religious event in the world and has been known to attract between 5 and 15 lakh women devotees in recent years.
The offering of Pongala is a very special temple practice in the southern part of Kerala. Attukal Mahotsavam is a 10-day long and Pongala is offered on the auspicious day of Pooram star, which coincides with full moon. On ‘Pongala’ day, the fragrance of incense, sandalwood and coconut oil mingle with the smoke from hundreds of thousands of open hearths as the women cook the sweet porridge of rice, jaggery and coconut, in earthen pots as an offering to the Goddess.
What is inspiring about the ‘Pongala’ is the capacity of women from all walks of life to come together in harmony and peace with a single purpose. It’s an opportunity to silently bow in reverence to the Supreme Mother with single-minded devotion. For the advocates of gender inequality debates, I’d suggest plan a visit to this festival. It’s a celebration of Womanhood that you are likely to experience, dedicated to the sacred feminine!
Wish note: Being part of the Pongala was my mother’s long-cherished wish; I Pray the Goddess bestows me with one such opportunity.
In this context, a temple that is really close to my heart is that of the Bhagavathy temple dedicated to the Supreme Goddess located at Trivandrum at a suburb known as 'Attukal'. During my childhood days, I used to travel to school in a shared auto rickshaw and we would frequently pass through the temple. Our auto uncle as we fondly referred to him (his real name is Ashokan!) used be gracious enough to let us have a quick visit to the temple on some rare occasions, while making sure that we reached our school still well before time!
A celebration that’s really fresh in my memory is the ‘Atttukal Pongala Mahotsavam’ – the annual festival at the temple. It’s colloquially referred to as the ‘Pongala’ – meaning Sweet porridge!
The week preceding the festival, the city, especially the area around the temple, used to take on a different character. Temporary shops sprang up along the streets with peddlers selling garments, earthenware, ice creams, snacks, and toys besides whole lot of other merchandize. Malls were unheard of, so were traffic jams! Devotional songs blared out from a public-address system, drowned at times by the loud boom of exploding firecrackers – an offering peculiar to this temple.
Over the years, the festival has grown into one of the most important community festivals of the state that the day of the 'pongala' is a holiday, with many parts of the city closed to vehicular traffic. What sets Attukal Pongala apart from other community gatherings is that it is believed to be the largest `women-only' religious event in the world and has been known to attract between 5 and 15 lakh women devotees in recent years.
The offering of Pongala is a very special temple practice in the southern part of Kerala. Attukal Mahotsavam is a 10-day long and Pongala is offered on the auspicious day of Pooram star, which coincides with full moon. On ‘Pongala’ day, the fragrance of incense, sandalwood and coconut oil mingle with the smoke from hundreds of thousands of open hearths as the women cook the sweet porridge of rice, jaggery and coconut, in earthen pots as an offering to the Goddess.
What is inspiring about the ‘Pongala’ is the capacity of women from all walks of life to come together in harmony and peace with a single purpose. It’s an opportunity to silently bow in reverence to the Supreme Mother with single-minded devotion. For the advocates of gender inequality debates, I’d suggest plan a visit to this festival. It’s a celebration of Womanhood that you are likely to experience, dedicated to the sacred feminine!
Wish note: Being part of the Pongala was my mother’s long-cherished wish; I Pray the Goddess bestows me with one such opportunity.
Also of interest: Dianne E Jenett of the New College of California made Pongala the topic for her Doctoral thesis. Titled ‘Red Rice for Bhagavathy’, Dianne's dissertation examines the `pongala' ritual from the eyes of a cross-section of women in Kerala.
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