KOTTANKULANGARA FESTIVAL

The Kottankulangara Festival is an annual Hindu festival in Kerala, India in which thousands of men dress as women. The festival takes place at the Kottankulangara Devi temple at Chavara, Kerala which is sacred to the goddess Bhagavathy. Every year this festival is celebrated on the 10th and 11th day of the Malayalam Meenam Maasam which falls on the 24th and 25th of the year.

On the festival day thousand of Devotees visit the Temple to seek the blessings of the Goddess Bhagavathy. The men dress up in the female attire of their choice. Some wear Set saari, Pattu saari, half saari or even dance costumes.

Festival begins on March 9 and will end today (March 25). Around 4000 people were participated in the Chamayavilakku. The myth is a group of boys herding cows and during their play, they used to act as shy girls and offer flowers and a coconut dish called kottan to a stone. One of the boys had a divine reception from the Devi and subsequently a temple without an outer wall was constructed and the ritual of men dressed as women offering prayers to the Devi started", said R Sreekumar, Secretary, Kottankulangara Devi Temple.