THIRUVANATHAPURAM: Countless women, filled with fervent devotion, congregated in the city to offer Pongala to Attukal Devi on Saturday. Rows and rows of earthen pots dotted the temple premises, streets, bylanes, railway station, bus station and shopfronts on the day of Pongala, testifying the Guinness World Records for the largest gathering of women.
The ritual for the Pongala began at 10.45 a.m. when the chief priest of Attukal Devi temple lit the main hearth (Pandara aduppu) from the fire brought from the Sreekovil.
The fire was then passed on from hearth to hearth set up on every inch of the city. The devouts then prepared the Pongala offering of boiled rice and jaggery, chanting devi mantras and waiting for the mixture to spill over the pot. At noon a helicopter flew over the city showering flowers over the pots. At 2.30 p.m., holy water was sprinkled on all the Pongala pots. Around 250 priests were deployed across the city to sprinkle the holy water.
Unlike the past the long row of Pongala pots stretched up to Kanakakunnu Palace premises this year.
Earlier, devotees came in droves to the city, eager to occupy the nearest possible space to the temple. All the main roads were congested with the steady influx of devotees and accompanying relatives on Friday night. The police personnel and hundreds of volunteers worked hand in hand throughout the day managing the crowd and ensuring all services to the devotees. Food, water and refreshments were constantly distributed by the volunteers through stalls set up at various points in the city.
Familiar faces from big and mini-screens also offered Pongala.
Actors including Chippi, Kalpana and Priyanka were among the prominent faces who offered Pongala. Asha Venugopal, wife of Union Minister of State for Power K C Venugopal, Usha Mohandas, daughter of Kerala Congress (B) leader R Balakrishna Pillai, also offered Pongala.