Wander Woman

Attukal Pongala is the biggest congregation of women in India,perhaps in the world too. It is the celebration of the goddess Bhagavathy. Once a year, women from all over Kerala come to this temple, near Trivandrum, and worship the goddess. The gathering is so large that helicopters are used to shower flowers and holy water on the devotees. I was lucky to be in Trivandrum at a time when this fest was going on, though not for the entire duration. I heard that on the last day, the entire area around the temple is taken over by women and this place is used to cook payasam to offer to the goddess. Its like a mass communal cooking of payasam, which is then distributed among followers. I just had one nagging question in my mind. Its a temple of the goddess, worshipped by women and yet the priest or the person who heralds the rituals and festivals is a male. Considering that this is known as the 'sabarimala for women', wouldnt it have been appropriate to have a priestess? Here are a fe...

The Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple is situated in Trivandrum, Kerala. Trivandrum is the capital of Kerala.It dedrives its name from the presiding deity (Sri Vishnu) of this temple. When I first came to Kerala, I heard about the magnificent idol that is so long that it has to be seen through three doors. It was later that I found out that the doors have a different significance. Through the first door, you worship Lord Shiva, through the second- Lord Brahma and through the third-Sri Vishnu. According to Indian mythology, Brahma is the Creator , Vishnu is the preserver and Shiva is the destroyer. It was also much later that it was found that this temple is the richest temple in the world with a treasure amounting to Rs 120,000 crores,locked in vaults beneath the temple. The palace extends on one side of the temple and is beautiful in its simplicity. The royal family of Travancore, as it is known, is extremely unassuming. It is said that they have devoted their lives to the deity and are act...