Women flow in to Pongala city

Crowd in front of Sastha temple, Manacaud in the wee hours of Wednesday

 Making food for the devotees

 Women have started coming to Thiruvananthapuram city to offer pongala to goddess Bhadrakali on the auspicious Attukal Pongala. Vehicles from the nearby districts of Kollam, Allappuzha and Pathanamthitta have been plying through the city roads from the wee hours of morning. Traditionally the city homes extend hospitality to the devotees who come to offer pongala, building new relationships and a community, based on divine love.