How many kilometers between the richest temple in the world and the temple which has the largest gathering of women in the world?? (5 things - Week 46)

2.6 kilometers says Google.

If you don't know the temples I've just mentioned, the richest temple in the world is Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple and the temple which holds the Guinness world record for the largest gathering of women is Attukal Temple.

And on the 16th of February 2014, the Attukal Temple celebrates the 'Pongala' festival. I hear you think, "What is a Pongala?". Well, for performing Pongala, a devotee prepares a food item for the deity on the auspicious day. This is usually preceded or post-ceded by a request. This request asks for an assurance from the deity in carrying out some task.

In this week's 5 things, we'll have a look through the five things related to this festival.

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1. Attukal Amma

The presiding deity. She is supposed to be an incarnation of Parvati. The story behind how the temple came about to be is also related to the story of Kannaki. At least, that is what the wikipedia page says. Don't hold me guilty of not knowing the history. From what people say about the Goddess, and from my own personal experience, I know one sure thing. "Villichal villi kelkuna devi aanu." [She's a Goddess who hears your calls.]

2. Pots

Ahhh!! What would this festival be without the pots. The 2.6km that I had mentioned before, along with countless other roads in this city, have their footpaths decked out with pots. This is for preparing the prasad in. It is quite the sight.

3. Food

So, what happens to all this prasad that gets prepared?? Well, that's were the young ones in the family come in. Since most of these items are sweet in nature, those heavier in the age column find it hard to consume more than a little. This leaves open the opportunity for the young ones to finish them off. And like kids in a candy store, we eat - we eat left, right and center. We eat till there's nothing left.

Looking forward to eating this sweet on Sunday.

4. Family

Like mentioned earlier, this festival is a quite a big affair in this part of the world. So, everyone in the family gets together. While the women folk are busy preparing the pongala, the men would be responsible for the daily duties within the household, including preparing food for everyone. The kids would be left to their own, with their mothers busy with the pongala, and the fathers swamped trying to make some kind of lunch.

5. The Ladies

What would this festival be without them. They turn out in hordes; they brave the heat; they go about their task with utmost devotion; they are the symbol of this festival. And it is said that nearly 3 million women will take part in this year's festival on Sunday. More than the Guinness records, what amazes me the most is the monumental effort  that this city makes to provide as much comfort as possible for these women. Hats off to you, Thiruvananthapuram.

Womenfolk leaving the city after offering Pongala.

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I had promised you three blog posts this week, and here I'm finishing off the third one off in time. The Part 27 of this series which was skipped at its supposed release date was brought out as "Best of the unwritten" on Monday. And earlier today, to some welcome positive acclaim, was released, as promised, the "Seven stages of LOVE". Thanks for reading.

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That's all for this week. I'm off to celebrate what has become the festival of the city of Thiruvananthapuram. Let the festivities begin.

'til next week,