Thiruvananthapuram | Thousands of women of all ages who came to the state capital from across Kerala and beyond, some even from abroad, offered 'pongala' to the presiding deity of the Attukal Bhagavathy temple on Thursday, braving the scorching sun.

The women, holding umbrellas or wearing caps or white shawls over their heads, were ready since early morning with their makeshift brick stoves along the roads for several kilometers in the heart of the city.

Some of the women told reporters that they had been waiting at the spots designated for their stone stoves since Wednesday night.

The rituals began shortly after, at 10.10 AM, when the chief priest lit the main stove (Pandara Aduppu) near the shrine, signaling the start of the annual event.

As the drum beats and music signalled the lighting of the main stove near the shrine, the women, waiting on the roadsides and specifically designated areas for the ritual, lit their brick stoves and began preparing the 'pongala'.

The 'pongala' is cooked using rice, jaggery, and scraped coconut in fresh earthen or metal pots.

After the offerings were blessed by the priests in the afternoon, the devotees packed up their utensils and the dishes they prepared and returned to their homes.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in a Facebook post, said it was a matter of pride that the police and local authorities were able to ensure safety of the women who came for the festival and cleanliness of the city, making it an example for the world.

The waste material and bricks left behind by them were quickly cleaned up by the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation which deployed 3,204 sanitation workers for the job, according to a statement issued by state Local Self Government Minister M B Rajesh.

Praising the clean-up work, the minister said that the corporation did an exemplary job in restoring the city to its original condition.

The minister also commended the decision to donate the bricks left over after the 'pongala' to extremely poor families for house construction.

The Southern Railway, meanwhile, said it ensured safe and seamless travel for nearly one lakh devotees during 'pongala'.

It said in a statement that several measures, including special train services, extra stoppages for 31 trains, dedicated platforms and additional ticketing counters, were implemented to accommodate the large pilgrim turnout.

"A special train towards Kollam at 13:40 hrs, introduced on short notice, effectively managed the post-pongala rush," it said.

In the morning, a section of Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers --agitating outside the Secretariat here for over a month seeking a hike in their honorarium and post retirement benefits -- also performed the 'pongala' ritual at the protest site.

Besides them, celebrities including actor Jairam's wife Parvathy and their daughter-in-law also reached the state capital for the sacred ritual.

Union Minister of State Suresh Gopi's family performed the ritual like in the past at their residence here.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, party MLA M Vincent, LDF ministers G R Anil, V N Vasavan and P A Mohamed Riyas as well as BJP leader and former Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar were present at the Attukal Bhagavathy temple to witness the ceremony.

Speaking to a TV channel, Tharoor said the number of devotees arriving for

the ritual has seen an increase every year except during the covid-19 period.

He said he saw how crowded the city was getting for the annual event when he arrived here from New Delhi on Wednesday evening.

"Today morning when I left home, I saw that it was crowded everywhere," he added.

Preparing 'pongala' is considered an auspicious all-women ritual as part of the annual festival of the Attukal temple here, popularly known as the "Women's Sabarimala."

The ceremony will conclude with the sprinkling of holy water by temple priests at an appointed time in the afternoon.

Extensive arrangements were made by the authorities to provide food, water and medical aid to the devotees.

The police and the fire department had put in place arrangements, including restrictions on vehicular movement and parking, to ensure the festival was celebrated without any mishap or inconvenience to the general public.

The pongala festival marks the finale of the 10-day ritual at the shrine.

The festival begins with the "Kappukettu ceremony," featuring the musical rendition of the Goddess's story (Kannaki Charitam) by authorised families invoking the presence of Kodungallur Bhagavathy and the slaying of the Pandiyan King.

The nine-day recitation culminates in a dramatic moment marked by temple drums and devotees' chants, leading to the lighting of stoves for the Pongala offering, symbolising the triumph of good over evil.

The ritual had made it to the Guinness Book of World Records in 2009 for being the largest religious gathering of women on a single day when 2.5 million took part in it.

As per local legend, the annual festival commemorates the hospitality accorded by women in the locality to Kannagi, the heroine of the Tamil epic 'Silappadhikaram', after she destroyed Madurai city to avenge the execution of her husband Kovalan who was wrongly branded as a thief.