Thiruvananthapuram: It was the first time in almost a decade that Attukal Pongala fell on a Friday, the prayer day at Manacaud Valyapalli and Palayam Jama Masjid. But nothing stopped mosque authorities from supporting Pongala devotees like they do every year. More than 500 women were offered a place to rest, inside the Jama’ath Hall at Palayam mosque, while the Friday ‘namaz’ went on in its designated space. Muslim devotees, who attended last week’s prayers, were told to park their vehicles near University Library, and walk to the mosque.
As is the practice every year, the mosque offered refreshments to women devotees. “Ours is a mosque which shares boundaries with a church and a temple. People from various walks come in to the mosque on other days, as this is where writer Kamala Suriaya has been buried. We cooperate,” says M. Saleem, General Secretary, Palayam Jama’ath.
Manacaud Valyapalli offered parking space for the fire and rescue services as well as police vehicles. They had also arranged for an ambulance vehicle. The mosque opened its doors to women devotees, so that they could use the rest rooms. “This is an area where people of all religions live in harmony. We have always stood for communal harmony,” says Alen Nazeer, General Secretary, Manacaud Valyapally Muslim Jama’ath.
