Thousands perform Pongala ritual

Thiruvananthapuram: Thousands of women congregated in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of the south Indian State of Kerala, yesterday, offering a dish of cooked rice and jaggery to Hindu deities, soliciting her blessings for the health and prosperity of their families.





Women in traditional Kerala sarees thronged roads and streets from as far as five kilometres of Attukal Bhagavathy temple, braving temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius to make the special offering.





The offering of the special meal (pongala) was the culmination of 10-day festivities at Attukal temple, where the presiding deity is an avatar of the most potent deities in Hinduism-Lakshmi, Saraswati and Kali.





Devotees cooked rice and jaggery in earthen pots, letting the foaming syrup to overflow a bit and waited till 3.15 pm to join the chief priest in offering it to the Mother deities from their pots. Women howled a shrill note, as is the local tradition, announcing the event.





The offering was taken home to be distributed among family members, relatives and friends. The ceremonial cooking started at 10.15 am as the chief priest lit up the main hearth in front of the temple and his assistants passed on the torch devotees.