Pongal, is also referred to as Thai Pongal, is a multi-day Hindu harvest festival of South India, particularly in the Tamil community. It is observed at the start of the month Tai according to Tamil solar calendar, and this is typically about January 14. It is dedicated to the Hindu sun god, the Surya, and corresponds to Makar Sankranti, the harvest festival under many regional names celebrated throughout India. The three days of the Pongal festival are called Bhogi Pongal, Surya Pongal and Maattu Pongal.
Makara Sankranti or Maghi, is a festival day in the Hindu calendar, dedicated to the deity Surya (sun). It is observed each year in the lunar month of Magha which corresponds with the month of January as per the Gregorian calendar and is a day the people of India celebrate their harvest. It marks the first day of the sun's transit into Makara (Capricorn), marking the end of the month with the winter solstice and the start of longer days.
Sankranti means transmigration of the Sun from one Rāshi to the next. Hence, there are 12 Sankrantis in a year.
Makara is the name of a zodiac sign in Indian languages known as Capricorn in English. "Jyoti" means "light" in Sanskrit. Thus "Makara Jyoti" means "Light of Capricorn".
Garudan Thookkam is a ritual art form performed in certain Kali temples in some Central Kerala districts in south India. The people who dress up as Garuda perform the dance. After the dance performance, the hang-designate dangle from a shaft hooking the skin on his back. In some places, the ritual is performed colorfully with Garudas taken in a procession on bullock carts or boats or hand pulled carts. It will be available in Devi temple during the festival of Meena bharani and Pathamudayam in Thiruvanchoor in Kottayam district.
Haripad is a Municipality in Alappuzha District, Kerala, India located between Alappuzha and Kollam on the National Highway 66. Its geographical coordinates are, Latitude: 9°18′0″N and Longitude: 76°28′0″E. Haripad is bordered on the east by Pallippad, Veeyapuram and Karuvatta to the north, Kumarapuram and Mahadevikadu to the West, and on the south by Nangiarkulangara. Haripad is close to the Arabian Sea and connects Mavelikara and Thrikkunnappuzha. It is known as the land of art, artists, land of snake boats, land of music, dance and drama. A main feature of Haripad which attracts even the foreigners is the "Payippad Jalolsavam". It is believed that the currently worshiping idol of Lord Subrahmanya was brought from Kandalloor with escort of snake boats and Valla Sadya. The Rajiv Gandhi Combined Cycle Power Plant located at Choolatheruvu is in Haripad Assembly Constituency.
Makaravilakku is an annual festival held on Makar Sankranti in Kerala, India at the shrine of Sabarimala. The festival includes the Thiruvabharanam procession and a congregation at the hill shrine of Sabarimala. An estimated half a million devotees flow to Sabarimala every year to have a darshan (vision) of this ritual this day.
The Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple is one of the "Divya Desams", the 108 temples of Vishnu revered by the 12 poet saints, or Alwars located near Aranmula, a village in Pathanamthitta District, Kerala, South India. Constructed in the Kerala style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandha, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Azhwar saints from the 6th–9th centuries AD. It is one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, who is worshipped as Parthasarathy. The nearest railway station to the temple is located in Chengannur, while the nearest airport is Trivandrum International Airport.
Sarkaradevi Temple is one of the most important temples in South India. It is situated South of the Chirayinkeezhu Taluk . The nearest town is Attingal and Varkala. Tradition accords a remote antiquity to this temple. Its main deity is Bhadrakali. The Sarkaradevi Temple assumed a significant status for many reasons and rose to historical importance mainly with the introduction of the famous Kaliyoot festival by Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma, the Travancore sovereign, in 1748. The Sarkaradevi Temple have some basic attachment with Nakramcode Devi Temple which located in Avanavanchery,Attingal.
The Pariyanempatta Bhagavathi Temple is one of the famous temples of Kerala, India, dedicated to Bhagavathy. This is one of the largest Devi temples of Valluvanad Desam in Palghat district. The presiding deity is known as the Goddess of 14 Desams. The temple and its precincts resemble that of Mookambika temple Kollur.
The Kudroli Bhagavathi Temple is on a two-acre scenic plot in the heart of Mangalore in Karnataka. It is close to Hampankatta.
Valamchuzy is a village in the banks of Achankovil river in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. It is in Pramadaom Grama Panchayat of Konni Taluk. The name comes because of the Shri Bhuvaneswari temple which was surrounded by Achankovil river. Valam + Chuzhy = valamchuzhy indicates the flow of Achankovil river around the Temple. Most of the villagers are farmers.
Sree Kurumba Bhagavati Temple is a Hindu temple at Kodungallur, Thrissur District, Kerala state, India. It is dedicated to the goddess Bhadrakali, a form of Maha Kali or Parashakthi worshipped in Kerala. The goddess is known also by the names "Sri Kurumba"" .This temple is the head of 64 Bhadrakali temples in Kerala especially Malabar. The goddess of the temple represents the goddess in her fierce ('ugra') form, facing North, featuring eight hands with various attributes. One is holding the head of the demon king Daruka, another a sickle-shaped sword, next an anklet, another a bell, among others. Routine worship at the temple every day at 03:00 and ends at 21:00 local time.
Kottathur is a settlement in Ayroor village situated on the eastern part of Ayroor Village of Pathanamthitta district in Kerala state, India. The Pamba River flows by the southern side of the settlement, providing fertile soil. The settlement is in the parliamentary constituency of Pathanamthitta; the representative is Mr.Anto Antony.
Thamaramkulangara Sree Dharma Sastha temple is one of the most prominent temple in Tripunithura, Kochi in the state of Kerala. It is dedicated to Lord Ayyappa worshiped as Dharmasastha.
Shri Dharma Sastha temple is a Hindu temple located at the village Sasthamkotta, Kerala, India. It is surrounded three sides by the largest fresh water lake of Kerala, Sasthamkotta lake.
The 2011 Sabarimala stampede was a human stampede on 14 January 2011, Makara Jyothi Day at Pullumedu near Sabarimala in Kerala, India. It broke out during an annual pilgrimage, killing 106 pilgrims and injuring about 100 more declared later as "National disaster". The pilgrims were returning from a Hindu shrine on the last day of a yearly festival which attracts millions of devotees. It began after a Jeep toppled over.
Ponnambalamedu is a summit in the Western Ghat mountain ranges of Pathanamthitta District, Perunad grama panchayat, Kerala, India. It is located near the Sabarimala Ayyappan temple, where the annual Makaravilakku event is conducted in the presence of nearly half a million pilgrims annually.
The Sree Subrahmanya Swamy temple(Perumthrikkovil) in Haripad is one of the largest and oldest temples in Kerala. This temple dedicated to Subrahmanya Swamy is known as Dakshina Palani(Southern Palani). It is believed that the temple was established even before the advent of Kaliyuga. It is the largest Subrahmanya Swami Temple in Kerala with longest dhwajastambha
Andoor Kandan Sree Dharma Sastha Temple is one of the renowned Sastha Temples in south Kerala. It is situated 13 km east of Neyyattinkara i.e. 32 km south-east of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The God Kandan Sree Dharma Sastha is the main deity of this temple. It is considered to be one of the rarest temples in Kerala having the God Sastha facing the west.
