<p>Thiruvananthapuram: Thousands of women offered pongala (sweet dishes made using rice and jaggery) to Attukal Bhagavathy on the occasion of the pongala festival of the Attukal Bhagavathy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.</p><p>The event, which is considered as one of the largest gatherings of women, also turned out to be a venue of communal harmony, protest and victory celebration.</p><p>The gathering of women, ranging from celebrities to those from the weaker sections, extended to around ten kilometres radius of the temple. Women also gathered at various places in the city, mostly around other major temples, and offered the pongala. Many women also offered pongala at their homes, a trend that started after the Covid-19 lock down.</p><p><br>Women set up hearths using bricks on the roads and premises of their homes and prepared sweet dishes as offerings to the goddess. Women from various parts of the country and even foreigners took part in the event. </p><p>The event began with the fire from the hearth in the temple being passed on to the hearths set up by women outside the temple and ends with the holy water from the temple being sprinkled on the dishes prepared by the women as offerings. </p><p>Owing to the large participation of women, the Attukal Bhagavathy temple is also often described as Sabarimala (Sabarimala Ayyappa temple) of women.</p><p><br>As usual, this year's pongala festival was also marked with communal harmony as mosques and churches around the temple opened their spaces for the devotees and also provided facilities like drinking water and rest places.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/accredited-social-health-activists">Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) </a>workers on an indefinite stir in front of the government secretariat over the last 32 days also participated in the pongala. Their wish was to open the eyes of the CPI(M) government to realise their plights.</p>.ASHA workers' protest: Kerala govt, Centre locked in blame game over fund allotment.<p>A group of women workers of BJP from Thrissur district offered the pongala to commemorate BJP's maiden victory in the last Lok Sabha polls in Kerala.</p><p>While a green protocol was imposed for the festival to avoid plastic waste, the city corporation launched a massive cleaning drive as soon as the rituals ended by afternoon.</p>
<p>Thiruvananthapuram: Thousands of women offered pongala (sweet dishes made using rice and jaggery) to Attukal Bhagavathy on the occasion of the pongala festival of the Attukal Bhagavathy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.</p><p>The event, which is considered as one of the largest gatherings of women, also turned out to be a venue of communal harmony, protest and victory celebration.</p><p>The gathering of women, ranging from celebrities to those from the weaker sections, extended to around ten kilometres radius of the temple. Women also gathered at various places in the city, mostly around other major temples, and offered the pongala. Many women also offered pongala at their homes, a trend that started after the Covid-19 lock down.</p><p><br>Women set up hearths using bricks on the roads and premises of their homes and prepared sweet dishes as offerings to the goddess. Women from various parts of the country and even foreigners took part in the event. </p><p>The event began with the fire from the hearth in the temple being passed on to the hearths set up by women outside the temple and ends with the holy water from the temple being sprinkled on the dishes prepared by the women as offerings. </p><p>Owing to the large participation of women, the Attukal Bhagavathy temple is also often described as Sabarimala (Sabarimala Ayyappa temple) of women.</p><p><br>As usual, this year's pongala festival was also marked with communal harmony as mosques and churches around the temple opened their spaces for the devotees and also provided facilities like drinking water and rest places.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/accredited-social-health-activists">Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) </a>workers on an indefinite stir in front of the government secretariat over the last 32 days also participated in the pongala. Their wish was to open the eyes of the CPI(M) government to realise their plights.</p>.ASHA workers' protest: Kerala govt, Centre locked in blame game over fund allotment.<p>A group of women workers of BJP from Thrissur district offered the pongala to commemorate BJP's maiden victory in the last Lok Sabha polls in Kerala.</p><p>While a green protocol was imposed for the festival to avoid plastic waste, the city corporation launched a massive cleaning drive as soon as the rituals ended by afternoon.</p>