What is the importance of the chariot festival in the novel, One Part Woman?

During the latter half of the novel, Ponna's parents take her to the eighteenth day of the chariot festival, in an attempt to find her another man with whom she can attempt to conceive. While the festival lasts for many days, the day on which Ponna attends is the loosest, specifically devoted to women who have not been able to have children with their husbands. The eighteenth day of the festival is notoriously raucous, and the music, dances, and many beautiful men quickly sweep Ponna into their dreamy allure. Though Ponna is initially hesitant to be intimate with another man other than Kali, her experience at the festival allows her to embrace the traditions of her faith and community and to seek a new future. Devoted to the god and goddess of the hill, the festival celebrates the half-female god, and with him, fertility and sexuality.