Attukal pongala festival to be celebrated on March 7

The famed Pongala festival of Attukal Devi Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, popularly known as 'women's Sabarimala', will be celebrated on Tuesday.

Thousands of women will prepare 'pongala' (sweet dishes made mainly using rice, jaggery and coconut) as offerings to the deity on the occasion.

This festival is regarded as having the largest female attendance of any of its kind. It achieved a world record, with an estimated participation of over 25 lakh women. Even women from other states and countries come here for the offering.

The entire roads and premises around the temple, stretching up to five kilometres and even more, will be filled with hearths. The rituals will begin at 10.30 am with the lighting of the main hearth at the temple and end with the sprinkling of holy water brought from the temple at 2.30 pm.

Apart from elaborate crowd control measures, the fire and rescue services are also kept on high alert against the chances of fire mishaps.

During the past couple of years there were restrictions in offering pongala near the temple owing to Covid. Instead devotees were advised to offer pongala at their homes.