Thiruvananthapuram: The decision to conduct this year’s Pongala Festival at the Temple of Attukal Bhagavathy on Thursday because the infidelity with a low key has destroyed the expectations of several vendors.
Every year, Jaba Karthik departs from Kanyakumari to the Temple of Attukal in a van that is packed with snack boxes.
He and his family had worked day and night for the past month to make ‘my great’, ‘Achappam’ and more handmade snack varieties for sale on the opportunity for the Attukal Temple Festival.
He was disappointed when he learned that this festival would be a low key product this year too.
At present, he does not expect big profits but only the amount he pays to rent out the kiosk.
Vendors have been waiting throughout the year for the festival to start, the rest of their years do some other works such as plumbing, painting and selling fruits and vegetables.
When the Attukal festival has been considered a large crowd puller, traders from other districts and even from other countries come to events to get better profits.
“I heard that this year’s festival will be done with all types of celebrations and crowds.
So, I bring more products than usual.
I have come here for the past five years and I have waited a year to come here and sell my products.
This is the place where I got a big profit.
People come even at 3am to buy products.
But when I come here, I can’t see a normal crowd, “Karthik said.
Other Kartors Thajudeen Rafed said that he always waited to start the festival to start because it was the only time to save money.
The rest of this year, he worked at a restaurant.
He also added that rental kiosk is very high and less customers.
Because there was no celebration last year, most of the vendors arrived this year expecting things would be different this time.
But then they know that the festival will be carried out with minimal rituals and crowd.com for many years, the number of kiosks founded by this trader is very lacking this year.