THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Festive mood has grips the capital city with barely a week left for the famed pongala at Attukal Devi temple.Lakhs of women are expected to attend the ritual which involves cooking and offering of pongala, the sweet porridge, to the goddess. People have started booking their place on footpaths in the city streets to set up hearths.As in the past, several temples and other religious institutions are preparing to offer space and facilities like drinking water and food for the devotees arriving to make the offering.
At almost all junctions in the city, replicas of the idol of the goddess have been placed in specially erected marquees. Cultural programmes are being held at some junctions in the evenings.The temple has been witnessing a huge rush of devotees since the start of the ten-day festival on Thursday. Special rituals, cultural programmes and ritualistic art forms are being held at the temple on the festival days. Thottam Paattu, musical rendering of Kannagi Charitham, is the highlight. Heavy traffic is being witnessed at roads leading to the temple in the evenings.
Kuthiyottam
Kuthiyotta Vrutham, an important ritual associated with the festival, began at the temple on Saturday. In this ritual, boys below the age of 12 observe a seven-day penance by staying at the temple. The vrutham starts on the third day of the festival. This year 987 boys are participating. According to the legend, these boys represent the wounded soldiers of the goddess. During their week-long stay at the temple they will participate in special rituals and do 1,008 namaskarams, by lying prostrate in salutation to the goddess. The vrutham started with the boys taking a bath in the temple pond and offering prayers on Saturday morning.
Afterwards, each participant paid obeisance to the temple’s chief priest by offering seven silver coins as dakshina. On March 2, after the pongala offering, the boys will participate in the chooralkuthu ceremony. Later they will walk in a ceremonial procession to the Lord Sastha temple at Manacaud. The procession’s return to the Attukal temple is followed by the untying of chooral marking the end of the ritual.The temple has made elaborate arrangements for the safe and comfortable stay of the children at the temple. A 50-member team of volunteers and a medical team have been assigned.The children’s menu includes kanji in the morning, sumptuous feast at noon, avil, pazham and ilaneer for dinner.