The Hindu : Kerala News : Thrissur Pooram - The festival of all festivals

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Friday, Apr 27, 2007
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Kerala

Thrissur Pooram - The festival of all festivals

The much popular and revered festival known as Thrissur Pooram is one of the most sought after festivals of Kerala and is unmistakably the most colourful one too. Vibrant customary rituals are very much part of this much popular festival. The setting of caparisoned elephants, enthralling performance by `melam' artists and magnificent fire works add to the brilliance of Thrissur Pooram. Every year, several thousands of devotees throng the city of Thrissur to witness this much famed festival. They turn the entire festival ground and surrounding places in to a riot of colours thereby making Pooram a memorable experience for one and all.

Believed to have been started in the late eighteenth century by Shakthan Thampuran, the Maharaja of the erstwhile Kochi state, the biggest of Pooram festival of the state is more than two centuries old. Celebrated in the Malayalam month of Medom (April-May) this celebrated festival consists of processions of richly caparisoned elephants from various neighbouring temples to the Vadakumnathan temple at Thrissur. The most colourful processions come from the Krishna Temple at Thiruvambadi and the Devi temple at Paramekkavu. Among all the temple festivals in Kerala, the two century old Thrissur Pooram is the most aesthetic and fascinating one. Three temples participate in the event and the whole affair is an expression of popular fascination for sound and colour, and because of the pageantry, it appeals to all class of people irrespective religious barriers.

Every year, the two wings namely Paramekkavu and Thiruvambadi who form the two integral segments of the coveted Thrissur Pooram gears up months in advance to showcase best of their talents and each year both the sects surface with a number of surprises with a view to add more glitter to the festival. Both the wings exhibit their Pooram costumes in a run up to the coveted festival which in itself turns out to be mega show leaving everyone spellbound with its colourful and impressive elements. The much popular episodes of the Pooram namely the `Madathil Varavu', `Elanjithara-Melam', `Thekkottirakkam' and `Kudamattom' are always held with much vigor and vitality. Each group is allowed to display a maximum of fifteen elephants and all efforts are always made by each group to rope in the best elephants around to their respective side.

Bizarre streams of fireworks display, however, is said to be the hallmark of Thrissur Pooram. Both Thiruvambadi and Paramekkavu wings always put up an exemplary show thereby captivating several thousands of people who get congregated at the venue to witness the biggest show of its kind in the state. The fireworks display captivates the onlookers for several hours at a stretch. The show commences in the early hours of the morning and the celebrations last till the break of dawn, the next day. Both the Thiruvambadi and Paramekkavu Devaswams present several innovative patterns and varieties of fire works every year.

`Kudamattom' is yet another colourful aspect of Thrissur Pooram which involves a show of umbrellas, dazzling in colour and dynamic in looks. For both the Paramekkavu and Thiruvamabadi wings, umbrellas form an integral part of displaying their might. The parasols are used in the `Kudamattom' of the Thrissur Pooram and are exchanged by the people atop the elephants. Every year various models of parasols are introduced by both Paramekkavu and Thiruvambadi wings. The umbrellas are changed in rapid succession atop the caparisoned elephants. As part of the celebrations, an exhibition of various Pooram paraphernalia is held which exhibits the ornate elephant gear commonly known as 'Aana Chamayam' and the parasols with myriad designs and colours.

The most striking feature of the Thrissur Pooram is its very secular nature. Both the Muslim and Christian communities actively participate in the festival and they also play a very dominant role in the very conduct of the festival. To be attended by several lakhs of people from across the state, this year too the festival is impregnated with all the elements of a great festival.

SUNIL

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