Mumbai: The Attukal Pongala festival, the largest congregation of women for a festival in the world, is celebrated at the Attukal Bhagavathy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, also finds its resonance among devotees in Mumbai.

For those unable to travel to Kerala, the opportunity to participate is made possible by preparing and offering Pongala, a traditional sweet dish made with rice, jaggery, coconut, and other ingredients in earthen pots, to Goddess Kannaki. The pongala was organised at the premises of the Pimpleshwar Temple in Dombivli East on the same day as the festival in Kerala.

This initiative allows women in the city and its suburbs to partake in the sacred ritual and offer Pongala to their revered deity, ensuring they remain connected to this cherished tradition despite being far from Kerala.

C. Vijayakumar, a member of the pongala organizing committee, said, “We have been organizing the Pongala for the past nine years consecutively. Many women from Mumbai and its suburbs gather here to offer the Pongala to the goddess. We hope to continue holding the Pongala in the coming years as well.”

Sheena Srihari, a resident of Casa Rio in Lodha Heaven, Dombivli East, shared, “I was unable to attend the Pongala in Attukal, so it’s a blessing that I could offer it here in Mumbai and seek the goddess’s grace. I wish to attend the Pongala in the years to come without any breaks.”

Attukal Temple is often referred to as the ‘Women's Sabarimala’ because only women perform the rituals. In 2009, the ritual earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the largest religious gathering of women on a single day, with over 2.5 million participants.