As dusk envelopes the city, the winding roads that lead to Attukal Bhagavathy Temple are lit in rainbow colours. Fairy lights twinkle along the roads and all the way to the temple precincts. Decorative panels of gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon welcome pilgrims, men and women, of all ages, streaming in from every nook and corner of Thiruvananthapuram. Devotionals, announcements and music from the performances going on in the three stages on the premises of the temple mingle with the rhythm of drums, bells and crackers to create a layered soundscape while all around the parking lot the appetising aroma of spicy snacks, fruit juice, ice creams, peanuts and more tempt families to splurge on a variety of eats.
At this time of the year, all roads lead to the temple for the 10-day festival that reaches a crescendo with the famous Pongala, termed by the Guinness World Record as “the largest annual gathering of women”. The certificate issued by the Guinness World Record says that on March 10, 2009, 2.5 million women participated in the event organised by the Attukal Bhagavathy Temple Trust.
Vibrant mood
Prior to the grand finale, the area surrounding the temple resembles a mela. Stalls selling everything from safety pins, hair clips, bangles and bags to footwear, utensils, toys and readymades spring up around the time of the annual festival and do brisk business till night falls as the temple closes only by midnight. Traders from all over India seem to have congregated here to cash in on the festival. If Pratap Kumar Mandal from Jharkhand is your ubiquitous balloon seller, Hanuman and Ramalal, both from Rajasthan, specialise in gaily painted clay figurines of gods and goddesses. “We hail from Rajasthan but now live in Kerala. All these were made here and now we know when and where such major festivals are conducted. We have been coming to Attukal for the last five years. Business reaches a crescendo on the day before the Pongala when many women camp here overnight,” says Hanuman who refuses to divulge his surname.
Many of the itinerant traders selling keychains, bead necklaces, peacock feathers, slings and an assortment of shiny bags and lampshades hail from Tamil Nadu and many of them have come with entire families in tow. Lottery vendors tempt devotees with promises of “bumper prizes”. But, Prasanna Kumari, who has been selling lottery tickets for 15 years, says sales were much better a couple of years ago. “Now, I find it difficult to sell even two books of tickets. Earlier, four to five books used to get sold,” says the resident of Neyyattinkara.
Then there are traders from Kollam and Pathanamthitta. Muneer S, who has a stall full of earrings, ear studs and hair clips, says he usually follows the calendar of temple festivals and has put up stalls in many of the well-known temple festivals in the neighbourhood. There is even an art exhibition of mural art-inspired works by Prince Thonnakkal and his students that is drawing many spectators.
- “The Corporation has supplied steel plates and tumblers to residential associations and other organisations that supply food and water for the devotees. This is one festival that eliminates barriers of all kinds and city dwellers work as one to ensure that the Pongala is conducted without any hitches. Since we have been doing this for many years now, there is a procedure and coordination is ensured by all the departments involved in the conduct of the festival. The Chief Minister, Ministers in charge of different portfolios, officials of Kerala State Electricity Board, Kerala Water Authority, Kerala State Road Transport Corporation, the Mayor, and senior police officers are some of those involved in the planning for the smooth conduct of the festival. After the festival, it is our sanitation workers who move in to clean the streets in record time,” explains Deputy Mayor Rakhi Ravikumar.
And while there are many stalls selling earthen ware and steel utensils, what is conspicuous by its absence is plastic. Not a single stall near the temple has plastic containers of any kind. The efficacy of the Green Protocol, which bans use of one-time plastics, is evident in almost all the stalls.
The temple Trust has made ample provision for supply of drinking water and even devotees standing in queues for darshan of the deity are given boiled water in steel tumblers by an army of volunteers.
Cultural extravaganza
Meanwhile, cultural programmes at the three temporary stages on the temple premises, Amba, Ambika and Ambalika, include different kinds of dance forms, music, Kathakali, Ottanthullal and so on. While the recitals by leading performers are mostly organised by the Temple trust, many dance schools and performers themselves consider it as an offering to the deity. For instance, Nadia S has come with her 12-year-old daughter Lekha Mahesh as her dance school, Kollam-based Sowparnika Dance School, has a slot during the fete for a Bharatnatyam recital. Aaditya R Praveen has just finished her performance and is all set to go home while several youngsters, all made up and dressed, await their chance as fond parents, mobile phones in hand, push and jostle to find a suitable place to record their wards’ recitals.
By around 8 pm, loud beats of the chenda announce the arrival of the elaborately decorated ‘Vilakkukettu kazhcha’ from suburbs like Vellayani, Pappanamcode, Balaramapuram and so on. Balanced precariously on the heads of devotees, the tall pyramidal structures used to be made of tender coconut leaves and plantain stems and adorned with flower garlands. Now, it is more of colourful, glittering paper but the fervour remains the same. Once the last rituals for the day get over at the temple by midnight, the men bearing the vilakkukettu circumbulate the temple accompanied by devotees. “It is quite something to see the way they balance it on their head. Devotees stay on to watch this and by 1 am the temple closes its doors only to reopen the next day at 5 am,” says V Shobha, a member of the Trust in charge of public relations this year.
Every day, from 10.30 am, a sumptuous lunch is served at the two auditoriums. “About 8,000 devotees have lunch every day during the festival and the number goes up on the day of the Pongala. We cook about 800 sacks of rice. This is in addition to a mess for officers-on-duty at the temple,” explains Shobha.
This year, the Attukal Pongala falls on March 9.
