Trying fortunes

An old woman selling vatti, at the road side. Attukal Pongala is an opportunity for people like her.

Colours different

The banana market gets a boost during the temple festival months of February to April. A scene from the banana market at Manacaud in Trivandrum. This week has started with good sales due to the Attukal Pongala Festival.

The reed piper at Pongala

A boy selling reed pipes at the Attukal Pongala festival ground.

Luring kids

An army of plastic toys; a scene from the festival ground.

Temple festivals and micro economy

Attukal Pongala festival is typical of every temple festival that is conducted in Kerala, which is instrumental not only in boosting the cultural and religious morale, but also the economic situation of the common people in a subtantial way. It is a splendid opportunity one gets to try out fortunes in business though in a small scale. Usually women are seen more involved in such casual business affairs. For some of them it would be an ideal time to sell buttermilk, or sell good home-made pickles, some others will try their luck in selling snacks. Consumer products like toys, bangles, bags and temple offerings like garlands, flowers etc. are also sold. Attukal Pongala is festival is a wonderful example of how religious festivities complement the micro economy.

Celebration of local flavours

Attukal Pongala festival is also a place where you can taste local flavours. They range from the common murukku to mouth watering pickles from other states.

Potters' festival

Attukal Pongala can be termed a potters festival. If one goes by numbers, it shows an unimaginable figure. Roughly 2,700,000 earthern pots, if last year's participation is taken into account. Even though it is customary to offer Pongala in earthern pots, not every body does so. Some women, prefer to use the brass vessels, which they have been keeping for years for this sole purpose. If you deduct the mathematical output of this feminine superstition or obsession, the figures would still come above 2,000,000. It's an whooping figure! But the potters does not sell much says most of them.

Let's meet Madaswami from Marthandam. He has been making pots since he turned five, now he is sixty four. Hailing from a traditional potter's family, he has been coming to Attukal Pongala for years. He says that pottery is still a cottage industry in Tamil Nadu, and large scale production facilities has not yet arrived. The entire family is involved in the process; men prepares the clay and make the pots while women give finishing touches and get them burnt in the sun. Later they are shifted to a furnace where the pots are burnt in fire. The preparation of the clay itself involves many stages and lack of clay has become a new challenge. Now they have forced buy the clay for making pots which has cut into the profit. Madaswami says that the vocation is divine and requires purity of mind and body. It requires five days to make an earthern pot in the traditional way.

Festive mood in capital city

The capital city of Trivandrum seems to be in a festive mood as the Attukal Pongala is drawing near. Banners and arches adorn the roads, and potters line the either side of the way from Attakulangara to Manacaud. The crowd is incresing day by day, reminding that the pis near. The traffic has also become much congested. Traders have a good time, that they want to cash in with the paraphernelia for pongala. Special buses shuttle from East fort to the temple, and temporary bus station has been set up near the temple by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation. The Indian Coffee House has also started a restaurant near the parking ground.

A festival of colours

Sindhooram in different colours on display at the Attukal Pongala festival premises. Sindhooram is given as offering to the goddess. Sindhooram symbolises the most feminine attribute of the goddess, where the goddess herself identifies with women.

Kuthiyottam: The greatest offering to Bhadrakali

Radhakrishnan Asari

Kuthiyottam is considered as one of the greatest offerings to Bhadrakali. Boys below the age of 12 are dedicated to the goddess as the kuthiyottams. For a week they live in vratha or a strict disciplined life. The vratha for kuthiyottam starts from the third day of the Pongala festival. The vratha includes bathing five times a day and two namaskaras (kneeling before the goddess), one in the early morning at 3.30 AM and the other at 3.30 PM in the evening. The children live at the temple premises during the week, and on the seventh day they would put all the make up, ornaments and other embellishments like the kireedam (crown), floral garlands and kozhunnu(twigs of a plant with fascinating and divine aroma). They would accompany the procesion of the goddess. There were 650 kuthiyottams during last year's Attukal Pongala festival. This year it is likely to be around 750. Mr.Radhakrishnan Asari of the Kuzhippattu House looks after the kuthiyottam, which is a privilege he got traditionally from his ancestors.

Attukal temple festival: Kudiyiruthu ceremony

Attukal pongala festival: Kudiyiruthu

Attukal Devi temple at night

All set for the Pongala festival

The Attukal Devi temple is all set for the kodiyettu tommorrow. The panthal (a shed made of thatched coconut leaves) is made right in front of the gopuram or the temple entrance, where the diety is invited to stay till the end of the festival, which is known as kudiyiruthu. The main rituals that will be performed tomorrow are the kappukettu and the kudiyiruthu. Kappukettu involves adorning a bangle which is made of the pineapple plant's fibre and the panchaloham(an alloy of five metals). The Attukal Pongala festival begins formally with the kappukettu and kudiyiruthu.

നാളെ ഒന്നാം ഉത്സവം 14.02. 2008 വ്യാഴാഴ്ച

കാപ്പുകെട്ടി കുടിയിരുത്ത് രാവിലെ 8.30 ന്

Temple festivals: Thottampattu

Thottampattu at the Panthuvila Devi Temple, Varkala

Thottampattu is yet another important ritual in a temple festival if the presiding diety is Bhadrakali or Bhagavati. In such temples the festival begins with the kudiyiruthu which involves leading the diety to a temporary shed made of thatched coconut leaves in the temple premises, till the end of the festival. Thottampattu begins after the diety is invited to the thatched shed. The Thottampattu is a devotional song and at the same time a ritual, which tells the story of Kannaki in Tamil text Chilappatikaram. The ritual song continues for ten days, and the story told on each day is also related to the rituals in the temple.

Temple festivals:The Ezhunnellippu

Scenes from ezhunnallippu at Panthuvila Devi Temple, Varkala.

Procession or ezhunnallippu with diety mounted on elephant top is another important ritual of temple festivals. The procession will be recieved by the people at their door steps in customary way, which is regarded as auspicious and is supposed to bring prosperity to home. The ezhunnallippu is usually held during the last days of the festival. This year the ezhinnellippu starts from the Attukal temple after the Attukal Pongala, at 10 PM on 22 February. The procession ends at the Sastha Temple, Manacaud. The procession is accompanied by Kuthiyottam and numerous tablos.

Temple festivals: Importance of the flagpost

Scenes from flag hoisting ceremony(kodiyettu) at Panthuvila Devi temple, Varkala

Temple festivals usually begin with hoisting the flag of the diety or kodiyettu on the flagpost or kodimaram. If the diety has a permanent flag post, the flag is hoisted on it. In the other case a temporary flagpost is erected for the festival and the flag is raised. The erection of the temporary flag post involves a lot of rituals. Arecanut trees, that grow thin but tall, are generally used as temporary flag posts. The tree is first identified and then cut after obtaining permission from the tree goddess. It is cut in such a manner that the tree is not allowed to fall on the ground. It is then transported to the temple premises on people's shoulders after certain rituals. The tree is then made up to flagpost by the chief carpenter or moothassari. After finishing touches are made the flagpost is erected and the flag is raised, which also marks the beginning of the festival.

The Attukal Pongala begins with the kodiyettu on February 14, 2008.

The sky is clear

The clear sky in Trivandrum this morning, after the last night's drizzling rain. Yesterday the sky was cloudy almost all the time. The old generation says that it usually rains before the Attukal Pongala, that Attukalamma wants every thing neat and tidy. Superstition or not, rains will make the city clean,with less dust and dirt.

Festival of local flavours

Attukal Pongala is not only a temple festival but also a festival of traditional and local flavours. Its an occasion to taste different types of home made snacks, which women bring to sell. The common murukku, pakkavada, and ullippakkavada are some of them. There is also elayappam, (rice cake steam cooked in banana leaf, with jaggery and pieced banana added) which is also called valsan in many parts of Trivandrum. Usually elayappam is made on special occassions like religious festivals of Shivarathri and Karthika. But it has now found its place as a common snack in many local tea shops.

Pots have arrived, it's Pongala time

The first batch of potters have arrived at Manacaud junction, marking the arrival of the Pongala festival. They have come from Nagercoil, place adjacent to the Kerala state border. More batches are likely to come before next Wednesday.