ATTUKAL AMMA is the people’s Goddess; She is Bhadrakali, the all-pervading and protecting Mother. Legend has it that the Goddess chose the spot at Attukal, near Thiruvananthapuram, for an abode. Millions of women devotees the world over repose their unalloyed love and trust in Attukal Amma, and they throng Attukal during the annual Pongala festival. Attukal Pongala has made it twice to The Guinness Book of World Records as the largest annual gathering of women – in 1997 with a participation of 1.5 million women devotees, and in 2009 with a gathering of 2.5 million women.

Attukal Amma: The Goddess of Millions familiarizes the reader with the Bhadrakali cult in Kerala and provides a ringside view of the Pongala festival and the various rituals associated with it, even as it raises doubts about the authenticity of the myth of Kannagi, the heroine of Chilappathikaram, associated with the temple. The book also introduces the reader to the esoteric world of rites and rituals of daily worship at the temple.

There is something for everyone in this book, whether you are a scholar looking to decipher the significance of religious rites, a historian trying to trace the social and cultural evolution of goddess worship or an ordinary devotee yearning to get a glimpse of the beloved Goddess through Her lore. The pages of this book are interspersed with rare photographs and sketches, some of them depicting candid moments of the awe-inspiring rituals of the worship of Goddess Bhadrakali.

About the Author

LEKSHMY RAJEEV is a poet, columnist and translator. She is the daughter of the late advocate K.G. Sujathan and Prasanna. Her poems have been published in reputed literary magazines and journals, and many websites. Her volume of poetry titled Dusk Diary was published by the Sahitya Akademi in 2011. She was the poetry editor for the website of the British Council for South Asian Women Writers (2005–06). Her articles have been published in The Hindu, The Indian Express, Sahara Times, The Sunday Guardian, Deccan Herald, Travel X, Kerala Kaumudi and Mathrubhumi. From 2007 to 2014, she worked with Niyogi Books as consultant editor. She lives in Thiruvananthapuram with her husband Capt. D.K. Rajeev and children Adityan and Bhadra.