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::: Thrissur Pooram |
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Thrissur Pooram, a cultural highlight par excellence, is celebrated in
Thrissur at Vadakkumnathan temple in the month of Medam (April) where the regaining deity is Lord Shiva. Situated on a hillock right in the centre of the city, the spaciously laid out 'kshetram' or temple attracts thousands of devotees from all over the land during the Pooram festival.
Since the word "pooram" literally means a group or a meeting, it was believed that every year the dynastic Gods and Goddesses of neighboring provinces met together for a day of celebrations.
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| The Legend behind Thrissur Pooram |
This festival was introduced by Raja Rama Varma, popularly known as Sakthan Thampuran
(1751-1805), the Maharaja of the erstwhile Cochin State and
the architect of Thrissur,
in the late eighteenth century.
He took up the renovation of the Vaddakkannathan temple complex which was enclosed by high walls. The four massive gopurams of the temple have been ascribed to him. At a time when nobody would have dared to look straight at the almighty Namboodiris, Sakthan Thampuran stripped of their powers and took over the administration of the temple that claimed an antiquity of more than three centuries. It was he who made the sprawling Thekkinkadu Maidan the major venue of Thrissur Pooram. Again, he entrusted the onus of holding the festival to the two public temples- Tthiruvampadi and Paramekkavu temples. He himself is said to have drawn up the 36-hour hectic schedule of the Pooram festival.
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The Pooram Festival is celebrated by two rival groups representing the two divisions of Thrissur Paramekkavu and Thiruvambadi vying with each other in making the display of fireworks grander and more colourful. Each group is allowed to display a maximum of fifteen elephants and all efforts are made by each party to secure the best elephants in South India and the most artistic parasols, several kinds of which are raised on the elephants during the display. Commencing in the early hours of the morning, the celebrations last till the break of dawn, the next day. Perhaps, there is no other festival in Kerala that draws such an unbelievable number of people to a single event. However Vadakkunnathan is a mere spectator at this festival, lending its premises and grounds for the great event. The pooram festival is also well known for the magnificent display of fireworks . Fire works start in the early hours and the dazzling display last three to four hours. |
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| During the festival season, Thrissur town turns into a town of colour, music and mirth.
There are three temples participating in the event. It is an expression of popular fascination for sound and colour, and because of the pageantry, it appeals to all people. The images of the deities from all temples of the village are taken on elephants to the main temple. |
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Customs and Celebrations during Thrissur Pooram |
The two century old festival of spectacular procession of caparisoned elephants and enthralling percussion performances in a never ending succession is an 36 hours marathon event of incredible beauty, a feast for the eye and the ear, unfolding between 6 a.m. to noon the other day. Different from the usual temple festival, Thrissur Pooram is participated and conducted by people across all barriers of religion and caste. |
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The Pooram programmes begins with the ezhunellippu of the Kanimangalam Shasta in the morning and is followed by the Ezhunnellippu of the other six minor temples on the Pooram Day. The ezhunnellippu programme, which is considered to be a ritual sybolising the visit of the Devi from the Paramekkavu and Thiruvambadi temples to the Vadakkunnathan temple. Adhering to the medieval Peruvanam tradition, the festival is confined to the temples of Devi (goddess) and Sastha (divine combination of Shiva and Vishnu).
Another major event of the pooram begins with the setting off of the 'Pandemelam'at noon in which about 200 artistes in the disciplines of drum , trumpets, pipe and cymbal participate. The grand finale of this festival of colour, music and fire works would be marked with a function of bidding farewell to the deities of the Thiruvambadi and Paramekkavu Devaswams in front of the Western Gate of the Vadakkunnathan Temple. |
| The exhibition of the paraphernalia of elephant decorative, commonly known as 'Aana Chamayal pradarsanam', the spectacular show of 'Kudamattom' in which parasols of myriad numbers, designs and colours are exchanged by the people atop the elephants.
The Pooram festival is concluded with a spectacular fire works display, which is held in the wee hours of the day after the Pooram. The Thiruvambadi and Paramekkavu Devaswams present many innovative patterns and varieties of fire works, which make spectators going into raptures. This famous and mighty exhibit of the magnificent display of fireworks add to the popularity of the Pooram festival.
The most striking feature of the Thrissur Pooram is its very secular nature. The Muslim and Christian Communities actively take part in it and they play a very prominent role in the very conduct of the festival. |
Vadakkumnathan Temple -
is one of the largest temples in Kerala that is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is over a 1000 years old. This temple is a classic example of the Kerala style of architecture with beautiful murals of the seventeenth century delineating graphically the story of Mahabharata. The murals in the temple are known for its rarity and two of them - Vasukisayana and Nrithanatha - are even worshipped regularly. The shrines and the Koothambalam display exquisite vignettes carved in wood. It is believed that this temple was built by Parasurama. The sprawling Thekkinkadu maidan , en circling the Vadakumnathan temple, is the main venue of the Thrissur Pooram.
Vadakkunnathan temple is surrounded by a massive stone wall enclosing an area of nearly 8-9 acres.
Outside the nalambalam, there are shrines for Lord Krishna, Vrishabha, Parasurama, Simhodara, Dharmasastha and Adi Sankaracharya.
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| Paramekkavu Devi Temple - Paramekkavu Devi Temple , the biggest devi vigraha in kerala, eastern main road side of trichur town. The active participant of trichur pooram. the other one is thiruvampady. these two groups are arranging the caparisoned elephants in procession at the Southern gopura maidan for pooram celebrations. |
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