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'Attukal Pongala' celebrated in Kerala

     Thiruvananthapuram: Hundreds and thousands of women today thronged the Attukal temple in Kerala to take part in a unique ritual called Pongala. It was the culmination of a ten-day festival at Attukal Bhagavathy temple, two km from Trivendrum. On the "Pongala" day, women cook the offering (sweet porridge) in a clay pot on an open fire. It is believed that offering Pongala to the goddess Durga relieves women of their sufferings. This year around seven lakh women from all parts of southern India congregated at Attukal temple, also known as "Sabarimala of women". The main deity of Attukal temple is Hindu goddess Durga, known locally as Attukal Bhagavathy. The festival ends with women offering Pongala to the deity. "Pongala" literally means `to boil over' and refers to the ritualistic offering of porridge, made of rice and jaggery and considered to be the goddess's favourite offering. "This is just to please the Mother Goddess, over hundreds of thousands of women are present here. This is spread across seven kilometre area," said Ramesh, a temple official. Mala, a devotee, said: "This is the first time I am offering pongala. I am very happy that despite many obstacles I managed to make it. I am very happy." Sabarimala is another temple in Kerala where only male devotees offer prayers.
-Feb 24, 2005