Sweet pudding made from rice, jaggery, coconut gratings, banana and ghee — these were some of the dishes offered to the 'Attukal Amma' on Wednesday. Thousands of women flocked to Kerala’s capital Thiruvananthapuram for the Attukal ‘Pongala’, the ritualistic offering made annually to the presiding deity of the Attukal Bhagavathy temple.
Setting up makeshift brick stoves along either side of the main roads, devotees braved the blazing mid-day sun and the intense, stinging smoke from the fires to offer thanks and prayers to the deity.
Women offering pongala to Attukal Devi near the Thiruvananthapuram Secretariat on Wednesday
A devotee in fervent prayer
Family members of the Madras Regiment from the Pangode Army camp prepare pongala
Transgenders offering Pongala to Attukal Devi near the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram
Former empanelled conductors of the KSRTC, on a strike in front of the Secretariat, seek blessings
Volunteers distributing watermelon juice to devotees
Autorickshaws waiting at Vellayambalam to transport devotees for free
A tourist from Italy taking selfies with children in Thiruvananthapuram
Thampanoor in Thiruvananthapuram teems with devotees
