Attukal Pongala: Thousands of devotees gear up to offer Pongala in Kerala capital

Thousands of devotees gather in Thiruvananthapuram for the Attukal Pongala festival, celebrating unity and devotion.

Thousands of women congregated within a nine-km radius of the famed Attukal Devi Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, to offer Pongala on Tuesday (March 3, 2026).

Churches, mosques and residents opened their doors to devotees, who set up open brick hearths to cook the sacrament, an offering of rice and jaggery. 

Hundreds of women from across Kerala and beyond have flocked to the state capital for the famous 'Attukal Pongala' festival on Tuesday. In many parts of the city, devotees have begun lining the city roads and lanes with their brick hearths.#AttukalPongala, which witnesses… pic.twitter.com/vD07cz2dVj

The scenes in front of the Palayam Juma Masjid, St Joseph Metropolitan Cathedral and the Manacaud Valiya Palli, among other religious places of worship in the city, seemed redolent of Kerala’s secular and progressive ethos at a time when religious amity was coming under attack, including through cinema. 

The Palayam Imam, V.P. Suhaib Maulavi, told reporters that the mosque provided drinking water and light refreshments to the devotees. He said the members of the Muslim community centred around the Juma Masjid opened their homes and businesses to devotees. 

The St. Joseph Metropolitan Cathedral in Palayam provided bivouacking facilities for devotees.