K.R. Meera with myself and Sheela, the President of FSA and Jaji
Falicitating KR Meera at the function
My best friend in Pre- Degree - Sheela Panikar (1965-67) Batch 1965-67
Meera with Principal
The best period,rather my golden time was when I was a student of the Women's college. I still maintain contact with my teachers in SNWC. Recently, I spent 2 hours with Menaka teacher who taught us Economics in the Pre- Degree course. She was so happy to see me sharing the 49 year back incidents. She remembers me as a small girl wearing full skirt and half sari, flying evry where in the college like a butterfly to do many things. I participated in sports, games and cultural activities. I was in the N.C.C., although I was too lean and small. She was surprised to hear that my blog's name is flying butterflydrsarada. I was fond of another teacher- MR.Saraswathy. At the time when I studied in SNCW, she was very beautiful and she beautifully taught us Indian History. I visited her every year and now she is a member of our family.
My best friend in our class was Sheela Panikar. She studied in Delhi and Pune. She was my English teacher! I was poor in English as I studied in Malayalam medium in Govt. girls high school at Kollam. I used to seek her help in learning English grammar. I was extremely happy to see Sheela after many years. We ate lunch together as if we were college students in 1965!
Attukal Pongala Mahotsavam is the Sabiramala festival for Women. It is a women empowerment festival. The collective power of women supported by men ,just for the day is a unique visual treat!The function starts with lighting fire at the brick hearth known a Aduppu, which originates from the Pandara Aduppu of the Attukal temple, where the pongala payasam is prepared as nivedyam (offering) for Devi by the temple designated persons. Pandara Aduppu is lighted exactly at 10 30 am from the lamp in front of Devi at Sreekovil of the temple.
I also prepared Pongala payasam for Devi . In front of the pongala aduppu is the offering in the banana leaf for Lod Ganapathy. It is a ritual done before lighting fire at the pongala Aduppu. Below is the boiling water with rice spilling to the fire. At this time all of us do 'KURAVA', a special sound of symphony to let others know of our happiness.
This year also the ecstatic festival for
women, Attukal Pongala was celebrated
at the capital great city
of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala in India. With over 50, 00000 women of
different ages lining up all over the city and its outskirts, in the late hours
of February 15 and in the early hours of February 16, with not less than 12
hours of minimum waiting time, to light fire to each woman’s Pongola aduppu is an unforgettable experience.
The offering of pongala, done every year, only by women, is
the beauty of the festival. Pongala is done in and around the Attukal
Bhagavathy temple, in every house, in every street, in every government or non
government office premises .The
pongala line stretches from all directions of the Temple to more than 8
miles. It is an amazing experience!
Women from all over India and even from foreign countries participate in this
Mahotsavam. Attukal pongala is the highest accorded festival of women in India.
It is Sabirimala for women.
The deity at Attukal
temple is Bhagavathy meaning goddess,
who is ingrained in her devotees as the originator, preserver, and destructor
of the universe. At Attukal temple, Devi
is in the form of Durga, predominating as the destroyer of evils and preserver
of goodness. Devotees ardently believe
that ‘sakthi’, the power is needed to fight injustice and create harmony for
good living.
Devi Durga is also known as the mother of all virtues. Sakthi- the mental and physical power is what
women need to seek justice, feel equality and happily live in a healthy
society. And, that is the need of the
centuary.
Pongala, the special kind of offering is done to Durga Devi
to throw away evils in one self and acquire power to strengthen the self to
fight against injustice.
Devotees believe that Parvathy, wife of Lord Siva,incarnated
in Kannaki, the much described heroine
in Chilappadikaram, by the famous Tamil poet, Elankovadikal, appeared in the
form of a beautiful woman on the banks
of Killi river to give darsan to her fervor
male devotee in Mulluveetil house
at Attukal. She asked the devotee to help her cross the Killi river, which the
devotee happily did. But he was so astonished to see her disappearing at the
bank of the river. He saw the same woman as Devi at night who asked him to
arrange a rest place for her at the nearby KAVU ( a place of bushes). He
quickly did what Devi demanded. He placed Devi’s idol and started offering
pooja (worship). The devotee offered
rice made pongala for Devi. Later on devotees slowly started coming for Devi’s
blessings. They also started giving rice
based pongala to seek blessings. Now thousands of women, every year on the nine
th day of Attukal temple utsavam in the month of February, offer pongala to
seek blessings of strength from Devi for
a better life.
Attukal Pongala is a global community festival. Women from all over the world participate in this festival.
Each woman participant is visualized as Devi.
On Pongala day, all religious believers,school and college students, governmental and non governmental employees, actively get involved as volunteers to give all possible support to women participants of the Pongala function. No house is there without providing basic amenities like food and water to these participants. Palayam Muslim Jamayat mosque and the Christian churches on the sides of the M.G. road provided all possible facilities to Pongala women. Traffic police and city police personnel do the most difficult task of facilitating smooth traffi to and from the Pongala vicinity.
In this year, 63 women prisoners of Attakulangara Women's Jail, offered Pongala.
I went to Thiruvananthapuram on 14th February by train. All compartments wee filled with women. The
pongala eve was filled with activities of women buying pongala pots, wooden or
coconut shell made big thavi to stirr pongala payasam, dried
coconut leaves, husks , kothumbu etc. for litting fire to cook, therali leaves,
jaggery, rice, planton ,towels commonly known as thorthu, flowers, avil,
coconuts, malar, kalkkandam, etc.- the ingredients for the next day’s event.
With my puntured left thigh muscle, I was hesitant to participate in this year's Pongala. But my visit to my cousin sister Lalitha accan, facilitated my participation in the Pongala festival .Her daughters Mini and Manju and grand daughter Chandana, and Hari's mother were the members of our group. Hari, husband of Manju, son Mohit supported us in getting and transferring all necessary things for pongala to the spot. We assembled in the compound of the Vanjiyur court, where so many women were preparing for Pongala. Chandana, opened her book and drew her imagery of Pongala.
Pongala drawing of Chandana
Mini and Manju pioneered mixing of the ingrediants for therali
appam and mandaputtu. Chandana, her grand mother Ratnamma, and myself joined
them.
At exactly 10 30 am, the muhurtham( time) for lighting fire, all of us started chanting 'Sarvamangalye' and lighted fire at the brick aduppu. The fume, the heat from the hearth and from the sun made all of us sweat and we could not keep our eyes opened due to drifting of water from our eyes. One to one and half hours of the celebration is the real tough test of our devotion to Devi. The pot was filled 60% with water. Once the water was boiled, cleaned rice was put in the water. When the rice water spilled the pot and reached the Aduppu, all of us did kurava. After boiling the rice, we added powdered jaggery and continuously stirred the ingredients in the pot. When it was properly cooked, we again added pieces of planton. The pongala paysam was ready around 11.40 am. We covered the nivedya payasam with the banana leaf. At 2 30 pm, the temple designated poojaris blessed the pongala nivedyam. Lunch was served to all of us. At 3 pm, all of us with our pongala payasam slowly walked to the nearby house of the grand mother. later, we returned to Hari's house.
It was the most joyful day for all of us! Let more and more women join on the next years Pongala Mahotsavam to add on psychological strength to face the growing hurdles of life. Let Attukal Pongala be the icon of Women's empowerment! Let us join in the spiritual feast!
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Dal powder, jaggery, ghee, little water sprinkled to form this mixture to prepare Pandara Puttu
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