ATTUKAL PONGALA - ART AND CULTURE
What's in the news?
● Attukal
Pongala, a 10-day religious festival (a festival of largest women gathering on
earth), celebrated at the Attukal
Bhagavathy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala is extremely popular.
Key takeaways:
● A
version of Attukal Pongala was recently celebrated at Pune's Rasta Peth in the
Ayyappah temple.
● As
part of the festivities, women devotees gather to offer a ritualistic sweet
dish to the goddess or ‘Bhagavathy'.
● The
Goddess-fondly referred to as ‘Attukalamma’
is said to be appeased by this ritual.
● Attukal
Pongala is known to be the largest women
gathering on earth.
● In
Attukal Pongala festival, women devotees offer pongala, a gruel made of rice,
jaggery, ghee and coconut, to the presiding deity.
● Attukal
Temple is called the "Women's
Sabarimala" as only women perform rituals.
● Women
were dressed in white saris with golden border for the festival.
● In
2009, Attukal Pongala festival made it to the Guinness Book of World Records for being the largest religious
gathering of women on a single day when over 2.5 million people took part in
it.