Thousands of women converge in capital for 'pongala'

Thiruvananthapuram: Women cutting across social strata celebrated the famed Attukal Pongala festival with devotion and fervour here Thursday.

The women lined up on either side of the roads in the capital city to cook their offering (pongala) on makeshift stoves of bricks and firewood at the famed Attukal Bhagawathi temple.

This event has been billed by Guinness World Records as the single largest gathering of women in the world.

Attukal Bhagavathi is believed to be an incarnation of Kannaki, the central character of the Tamil epic "Silappathikaaram".

The "pongala" event marks the penultimate day of the 10-day-long festival, often referred to as the equivalent of the Sabarimala pilgrimage for women.