Attukal Pongala Celebration in Kerala state.
I remembered my Keralite friend by name Bhindu Panicker, who use to describe the festivities of Kerala in detail. One such was Attukal Bhagavathy Temple Mahostavam in Kerala. The festival is all about the union of women near the Attukkal temple and cooking Pongala and offering it to the Goddess. The Attukal Bhagavathy Temple in Trivandrum, Kerala, celebrates the world famous Attukal Pongala every year in the Month of Kumbham-March or February. (Malayalam months are named after Hindu zodiac signs called Rasi). It is estimated that more than two million women participate in this Hindu ritual called ‘pongala.’ It is like annual gathering of women from Kerala and surrounding to offer Pongala to the Goddess. Attukal is the name of the temple. The 'Pongala' is Pongal or Pongali comprises preparing ‘prasad’ for the deity. Women cook rice and jaggery in earthen pots and they offer it to the goddess. They also cook different type of sweet dishes – called ‘mandaputtu,’ ‘appam,’ ‘ther...