pongala

Pongala is a significant Hindu festival celebrated primarily by women in Kerala, India, and by Malayali communities worldwide. The central ritual of Pongala involves the preparation and offering of a sweet rice porridge, also called pongala, to the goddess Devi, particularly in her forms as Annapoorneshwari or Bhagavati. The festival is most famously associated with the Attukal Pongala, held at the Attukal Bhagavathy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

Thousands, often millions, of women gather on the temple premises and surrounding areas to cook the pongala offering. They set up makeshift hearths using bricks and firewood to prepare the porridge. The ritual is deeply devotional and is believed to bestow blessings of health, prosperity, and well-being upon the devotees and their families. The preparation of pongala is a communal affair, with women often participating in groups, sharing ingredients and the cooking process.

The offerings are then consecrated by priests and offered to the goddess. While the Attukal Pongala is the largest and most renowned, similar pongala rituals are observed in various Devi temples across Kerala during auspicious periods. The festival holds cultural and religious importance, symbolizing feminine power and devotion. It is a vibrant display of faith and community spirit, attracting participants from all walks of life.