The annual festival held at the Kottankulangara Devi temple in Kollam is a unique one. Called the Kottankulangara Chamayavilakku, this festival is marked by the presence of a group of beautiful women moving together in the temple premises on the festival night. 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 Kollam, which is sacred to the goddess Bhagavathy. During the festival night these ‘women’ holding traditional lamps walk in procession to the temple to the accompaniment of the traditional orchestra. 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.
Kottankulangara Chamayavilakku
