Pavakkulam pongala

KOCHI: The premises of Pavakkulam Mahadeva temple at Kaloor will reverberate with chantings on Friday as thousands of devotees will offer pongala to the goddess .

The roads from the temple towards Elamakkara and Pavakkulam have already been booked by devotees who want a place near the temple to lay the makeshift hearth and make ‘payasam.’

Ezhikode Krishnan Namboothiri will light the main pongala hearth at 10 am to begin the ceremony. Following this, thousands will offer pongala.

Devotees have already placed bricks at the nearby places and are keeping vigil. Many will take turns to guard their places.

“We have booked 10 places for the pongala hearth here and are taking turns till night. Men will keep vigil at night,” says Sumathi, a resident of Elamakkara, as she sits alone near a row of bricks on the footpath near the temple.

All the bricks are marked with the names of the devotees to avoid confusion and last minute shuffles. The inmates of VHP Women’s Hostel near the temple have already booked places in front of the hostel.

Like political parties, they have booked the compound wall.