City all set to celebrate Pongala

Devotees in large numbers are camping in the city

March 05, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 05:47 am IST - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:

Devotees readying the hearth to be lit for the Pongala festival at the Attukal temple in the city on Thursday. —Photo: S. Gopakumar

Devotees readying the hearth to be lit for the Pongala festival at the Attukal temple in the city on Thursday. —Photo: S. Gopakumar

The capital city is all set for the annual Attukal Pongala festival on Thursday. Devotees in large numbers, many camping in the city for the past two days, have set up brick hearths on the temple grounds and roadsides to offer Pongala.

The ‘pandara aduppu’, main Pongala hearth, will be lit at 10.15 a.m. marking the beginning of Pongala.

The rituals will begin with Chenas Dinesh Namboothiri handing over the holy fire from the sanctum sanctorum to Melsanthi Kannan Potti, who will in turn light the hearths at the Kochu Thidapalli and Valiya Thidapalli inside the temple. The melsanthi will then proceed towards the pandara aduppu and hand over the holy fire to any of the two assistant melsanthis to light the pandara aduppu at 10.15 a.m. At 3.15 p.m., as many as 300 priests will be pressed into service to sprinkle ‘theertham’ on the Pongala offering.

The district administration has made elaborate arrangements for the smooth conduct of the ritual.

The traffic police have imposed restrictions on entry of vehicles into the city from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. The public can contact the police in case of complaints or suggestions related to traffic on 94979 87001, 94979 87002, 0471-2558726, and 0471-2558731.

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