THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The iconic Attukal Pongala festival, which sees millions of women arrive at the capital city annually to prepare a feast for the goddess, was a low-key affair this year in view of the rise in Covid-19 cases in the state. For the first time in its recent history, the festival was held at the Attukal Bhagavathy Temple here without the enormous crowd it is usually associated with, after the state government and the temple trust decided to conduct the ritual in strict compliance with the Covid protocol. The main ritual began at 11am on Saturday when the head priest of the temple lit up the ‘pandara aduppu’ (main hearth) near the temple, following which devotees offered the pongala at their households, as per the instructions of the authorities and the temple trust.
Many devotees thronged the temple premises during the ritual, which was screened live on a large screen set up in front of the temple for public viewing. This led to a violation of social distancing norms, as people crowded behind the barricades to catch a glimpse of the ritual on screen. Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran, Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, Mayor Arya Rajendran, MLAs V K Prasanth, O Rajagopal and V S Sivakumar were present at the temple. The sanctification of the offering was held at 3.40pm.
Many celebrities, including actors Chippi and Annie who regularly take part in the festival, offered pongala from their homes. Youth Congress state secretary Veena Nair, Kollam district secretary Priyanka Philip and Trivandrum district secretary Sajina Sajan also offered the pongala, stating they were praying for the PSC rank holders who were on strike.As per the records with the temple trust, an average of 25 lakh women devotees take part in the pongala every year. Though the number was less at the time of the ritual on Saturday, the temple saw a huge flow of devotees later in the evening.
BUT WHAT OF THE LESS PRIVILEGED?
Shylaja, a devotee from Gowreesapattom who was present at the temple during the ritual, is disheartened that she couldn’t offer the holy pongala to the goddess this year. “I live in a small congested house with no space to even set up a hearth to offer pongala. There is not enough land in front of my house as we step out directly into a byroad. In addition to the fact that we are not allowed to offer pongala in public places, I also didn’t want to make my offering that way,” said Shylaja, who has been offering pongala from a very young age. Shylaja is one among the many devotees who do not have the luxury of a house with compound walls, or at least a home of their own, to offer the pongala. “This year, I decided to come here and just pray. I will offer the pongala next year like I do every time.,” she said.