13-yr-old Ayyappa devotee from Pathanamthitta hits UN record with songs at Pampa

Pathanamthitta: As the annual pilgrimage season at Sabarimala draws to a close, Isabel waits eagerly for the hill shrine to open once more for the next monthly pooja. With each passing month, the number of devotional songs she renders at the abode of Lord Ayyappa continues to grow, steadily taking the young prodigy closer to another record. She has already sung 41 songs here.

Born in 2013 to Prasanth and Asha of Pulikkal House, Perunad, Isabel showed a keen interest in drawing and singing from a very young age. She always longed to visit the Sabarimala shrine and have darshan of Lord Ayyappa. However, it was only after her father’s death that she was able to undertake the pilgrimage in 2021, at the age of eight.

After offering prayers to the presiding deity at Sabarimala, Isabel expressed her wish to sing before Lord Ayyappa, following which the Travancore Devaswom Board officials granted her permission to render two songs. She sang at the Sabarimala Sannidhanam once again in 2023, after which she became ineligible to enter the shrine due to age -related restrictions.

Disheartened but undeterred, Isabel began singing at Pampa instead. She now travels to Pampa every Malayalam month to sing devotional songs. Of the 41 songs she has rendered so far, 39 were sung at Pampa alone. When she completed her 29th performance at Pampa, her name was entered in the UN Book of World Records, and she was honoured with an award.