The relevance of temple festivals

Temple festivals are unique in many respects. In the earlier days temples were one of the centres of village activity, and the festivals had a great role in mending the minds. Festivals brought together the rural folk and along with them the rustic values. But today, the scenario has changed; villages are slowly disappearing and the urban settlements extend to kill many rural landscapes and even their pretty old names; temple festivals have been reduced to mere exhibition grounds of tradition, culture and religious values. But festivals, like the Attukal Pongala festival has retained its rustic charm even amidst the choking city dust. It's a unique experience to see the urban hypocrisy giving way to rustic values; the entire metropolis turns to a village at least for a day to regain the values it has lost, all in the name of Amma.

Talking in future tense

The winding narrow way to the Attukal temple has many attractions that at once arrest the attention of the devotees. You can just ignore the way side traders who sell the agarbathies, pattu (silk cloth) and other paraphernalia offered to the Mother diety, for they they are all available from a number of other people who line up the gateway; but you cannot just ignore the inviting glances or affectionate calls from the palmists who line the way.

'Future of course is a riddle, and we seldom live the present recognising it. Most of our thinking, planning and deeds, we believe will converge at a point in the future. So future has become more important,and that's why every body wants to know about the future,' says Thampy who has been looking hands for the past twelve years. Thampy firmly believes that Attukalamma has been his saviour, and has never let him down.

Remani who has been here for the past 34 years, looks back with satisfaction, that the Mother diety has always been with her. She admits that the meagre earning she gets from this profession is not sufficient, but there is hope that one day Amma will shower all her blessings. To my question why the fortune teller has a bleak fortune, Remani says that Attukalamma is her fortune.

The age old Ammini, has been my greatest attraction, for her remembrances of the Attukal temple and Pongala goes back to 50 years ! She opened half a century of memoirs and said she came to the temple premises with her mother when she was just thirteen. 'For all these years the Mother diety had given me everything, and in my age I still live out of Amma's mercy.'

While I talk with them, I see some youngsters in their jeans and ears tuned to the FM hits approching to have a peep into their future. A young man in blue jeans spreads out his palms with shyness and glance around to find anybody watching. The palmist had already read his mind. With a smile he asks, have a love affair...The ice has been broken...Stereophones are unplugged from the ears...An enigmatic smile flashes his face.......'Will it happen', he asks....The palmist waits for a minute, to raise the tempo as in a film script, returns the same enigmatic smile as answer, the younster looked at me as if I am the villain. I respected his emotion and walked away to see what's happening around.

Of vinyl prints and bamboo structures

Preparations for the festival are in full swing. The main junctions on the way to Attukal temple have a fresh look. Most of the local tea shops, where people frequent during the Pongala, for a cup of tea or coffee, have a colourful look with new paints on their facades. Big hoardings are being erected at the main junctions, with bamboo poles, which also give jobs to many people. Even though the hoarding structures are erected in traditional way with bamboo poles, the hoardings are made of vinyl. The explosion of digital printing houses in the capital city, has been a boon for the advertisers. Now it is easy to get a vinyl print for less money and the client can also make a bargain. "Ten years ago the situation was different", says Appu, an artist. "We used to get lot of work, but now these modern gadgets came and we lost all the job, now no body wants us. Now no body wants an artist, even for a banner every one goes for a print out." Artists like Appu who did not adapt to the new situations, now paint houses for their living. Temporary sheds are also being made on road sides by traders who hope to make a fortune during the festival. One thing is sure it's great time for advertisers.

Hoardings everywhere

Hoardings have been erected in most of the junctions in the Manacud-Attukal road. Business houses, political parties, voluntary organisations and sports and arts clubs have joined the fray to give salutations to the Pongala festival.

Life as festival

For aged old Unni, and youngster Santhosh life itself is a festival. For years they have been travelling from one festival to another selling colourful fancy fans. For them temples, churches and mosque are the same, where the supreme power rests.
They make fans out of fancy paper, a craft they have perfected over years, but they say that life not so colourful like the fancy fans they sell. The main problem is the travell from one place to another, sometimes they find a break to go to home at Kottayam. Unni says still the greatest joy they get is from the smile that flashes across cute little faces when they hand over the fancy fans. Both of them expect that this year's Pongala would give them fortunes.

Festivals and the sociological truth

Festivals underline the sociological truth that man is a social animal. They never take place on festival grounds. In fact they are conducted in people's minds. Religions irrespective of Hinduism, Christianity or Islam, advocated the necessity of festivals, as they always brought human minds than human beings together. Hindus celebrate more festivals than any other religions, and it shows how Hinduism treated psychic blending more superior than physical prowess.

The divine feminist

Religion has some peculiar ways of bringing social order. It has been the pivotal force behind the establishment of many social institutions family being one of them; for no religion has advocated
for disordered living. The rituals sometimes define the way how religion addresses issues that are otherwise contagious to the society and the people. The myths that are told about many dieties in Kerala are good examples in this regard. In Vaikom, the diety Lord Shiva gets out one in an year to see the crops his subjects have produced toling and moiling in the soil. People say that it is a disguise to give blessings to the unchoubles to were not permitted to enter the temple in those days.

The Pongala too answers such socially significant debates. Is it not an assertion of the power of women, or a symbolic demonstration of the respect she should command in the society, or a religious mechanism to assert that woman should not be discriminated. The very idea of pongala is feminine, which involves the cooking of rice an activity traditionally done by women. The demonstration of this activity in public underlines the fact that they are committed to cook the food not only for the family but also for the entire world to dispell the discords and keep the relationships in order, and that they are true force behind the spiritual bond that maintain the family and the world. And the pongala is distributed to all, upholding her divine role. Its here, the roles that an woman has to play converge to a single point.

Pongala festival will begin on Feb 14

The Pongala Festival of the Attukal Temple will commence on 14 February 2008. The Temple Trust in a communique has stated that the preparations for the festival have been completed. It also stated that the discussions with the government departments and the Corporation officials have been made for the proper conduct of the festival. The government has assured all the support for the conduct of the festival. The Temple Trust also asked the devotees to do away with plastic bags and unbaked bricks.
The festival will start on 14 February at 8.30 AM after the kudiyiruthu.

Temple grooming up for the mega event

It's morning. The sky is red and serene and the sun is soft on the skin. A gentle breeze and chanting of matras sets the right mood. Devotees are coming to fill their heart with the divine joy as they get kneel before the almighty Mother. Some are seen sitting out on the sand filled premises, some are sharing the prasada, you also see the long queue to get coupons for the offerings. You will never see an anxious face here, its joy on every heart and smile on every lips, for the Pongala is near, its time for get together and joy, its time to offer all your sorrows as pongala. Why should one be sad?

Worship of the womanhood

Attukal Pongala is not simply a worship of the Mother diety (Attukalamma), but a worship of the womanhood itself. One can never find a festival, particularly associated with woman any where in Indian culture. Pongala symbolises the compassion, sincerity, dedication and bhakti and above all the forgiveness of women (or a Mother). By offering Pongala women re-dedicate themselves to the cause of womanhood, asserting that their role play as mother, sister and daughter procreating the essence of human being is more divine than mere physiological.