I happened to participate in a pongala only once till now and that was because my mother and both my grandmothers were active participants of Attukaal pongala since many years. I have always been a spectator and be a participant is way different than watching. Its difficult I must say.Only a women can participate in the pongala. Attukaal pongala is the largest pongala gathering in the world.My mother and grandmothers were my inspiration to finally participate in the ritual.
What is pongala?
Pongala is a ritual performed during the harvesting season in Kerala and Tamil nadu.The term pongala means to boil over wherein a special porridge made with rice,jaggery,grated coconut and raisins is offered to the sun.Women of the household perform this ritual.
Materials required for Pongala?
Earthen pot for cooking and rice, jaggery, grated coconut, ghee and water are the ingredients for the porridge. Brickand firewood for the makeshift stove.
Dress code:
There is no particular dresscode for the temple on regular days. On special accasion traditional Indian wear is worn by the devotees.On attukaal pongala day women usually wears saree and kasavu sarees or kerala set saree are the most common outfit worn by of the devotees.
Where does Attukaal pongala takes place:
Attukaal Bhagwati temple, Thiruvananthapuram
Attukaal Bhagwati temple is one of the ancient temples in Kerala situated in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram city. This temple is considered to be the Sabrimala of women as most of the devotees is women here.The presiding deity of the temple is Supreme goddess who is considered to be the creator , preserver and destroyer of all living beings.
Attukaalamma is Incarnation of Goddess Parvathi in the form of Kannaki (Goddess Bhadrakali). ‘Bhadra’ means good and ‘Kali’ means goddess of time.The goddess of prosperity and salvation attracts plenty of devotees all over the world. Any devotee who visits Padmanabhaswami temple definitely visits Attukaal Bhagwati temple in Trivandrum.
How to reach?
The nearest railway station is the Thiruvananthapuram railway station which is 3km away and the nearest airport is Thiruvananthapuram airport which is 5km away
Timing:
4:40 Am -12:30 pm, 5:00 – 8:30 pm
Why is temple famous for?
The temple is renowned for its grand Attukaal pongala which is conducted annually in the month of feb/march.Its a 10 day event stating on Kartika star of Makaram-kumbham month in Malayalam calendar. On the 9th day is the world famous Attukaal pongala conducted in large scale. This grandeur of the festival has made the temple hold a Guinness book of world record for holding the largest gathering of women for religious event.
The experience
The pongala begins with you getting a place and setting up the makeshift stove with help of bricks and firewood. Its difficult to get a space in front of the temple, but we got it a s my cousins friend arranged it for my mother and aunt. The chief priest lights up the fire in the main hearth from the temple and this fire is then passed on from one stove to another
After that you keep your earthen pot filled with water to boil with the rice. When the rice is half cooked you add the jaggery and coconut. Once the porridge starts boiling you lower the heat or set it away and waits for your turn to get a part of temple porridge which is distributed to each and ever devotee’s cooked Pongal. After which you can take the blessing from Attukaalamma and leave the premises.
What happened with my pot is it was leaking and the water wad extinguishing the fire and I had to get my pot replaced and start from the scratch. I found it to be a very difficult process as I have been cooking using the modern methods like gas stove and microwave and have never ever experienced the traditional way of cooking. On that day I was literally covered with soot and dust which made me sick the next day.
My advice would be if you are allergic to dust and wood soot, please stay away from this ritual as you might catch cold after this.If you ask me would you participate again I would definitely say yes 😊
On total the experience is mesmerising as you would be cooking with millions of ladies in the same span of time and its kind of a trance which you experience. The best part is the moment when the porridge boils over and the feeling of extreme satisfaction.I felt so grateful that my mother took me the temple to participate in the festival
Ladies, once in your lifetime participate in the world-famous festival.
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