Pongala regular Dr Dianne Jenett arrives in Thiruvananthapuram

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Dianne Jenett, who helped get Pongala included in the Guinness Book of World Records, is here in the city for the world-famous festival. Jenett and her friends, who had arrived from the US two days ago, have already booked their spot for offering Pongala at Sreekanteswaram.

Jenett last came to Pongala in 2023 with her daughter, Jamie. She returned after performing the Tulabharam of her son Simon in front of the goddess. Jenett first came to Thiruvananthapuram in 1994. She came to know about the greatness of Attukal Pongala while researching the topic, spirituality of women.

In 1997, Jenett offered her first Pongala with Hema, a former teacher at Women's College, and her friend Mahalakshmi from Chennai. She also helped the trust to include Attukal Pongala in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest women's festival gathering. Jenett, a professor at the San Francisco Transpersonal Psychology Institute in the United States, completed her doctoral dissertation on Attukal Pongala from the Institute of Integral Studies in California. She has lectured on Attukal Pongala at various institutes and universities in the United States.