In a first, Attukal temple trust gets a woman chief

Thiruvananthapuram: After dedicating 32 years of her engineering career in the public sector, Geethakumari A who has been elected as the first woman chairperson of the Attukal temple trust is set for a new mission.
Being the daughter of one of the founder members of the trust, she has a strong emotional attachment to the temple since childhood. Her favourite memory with the temple was visiting it with her parents on her birthdays.
Despite the fact that she was not interested in holding a role in the trust, she was persuaded by other members to submit the nomination.
Geethakumari broke the regular pattern of electing a “chairman” on Sunday with a majority of 54 votes.
A total of 75 trust members cast their votes to elect their new chairperson as their serving chairman, K Sasidharan Nair, passed away a few months ago. In the temple which is known as the “Women’s Sabarimala” Geethakumari took over as the chairperson by defeating a male candidate. Other women executive members of the trust, including V Sobha, S Sobhana, Jayalekshmi, Asha Saraswathi and Susheela, have already proven their potential in running the trust.
“Although I was not interested in competing first, the support I received from other executive members has encouraged me to serve in the position. Being an executive member from 2020, I have always witnessed the team work. I will try my best to provide essential infrastructure development and more amenities to the temple. Despite all the facts, I believe this is the decision made by Attukal Devi,” she said.
Due to her interest in devotion, she has been learning ‘Narayaneeyam’ and ‘Bhagavad Gita’ for the past 25 years. After completing her civil engineering at CET in Thiruvananthapuram, she joined the Public Works Department in 1981 and retired in 2012.