Thrissur Pooram, Kerala is one of the major Hindu festival celebrated in Kerala, the southern part of India. Every year Thrissur Pooram attract lakhs of people to take part in the festival and is also a big attraction for foreign tourists.
There are many annual festivals conducted in Kerala dedicated to village deities and among them Thrissur Pooram, Kerala is considered as Mother of all Pooram (festivals). With firecrackers, special decorations, mighty elephants and special delicacies the festival span for seven days. What makes the Thrissur Pooram a grand event is the rivalry between two devaswoms in the region – Thiruvambadi Sri Krishna Temple and Paramekkavu Bagavathi Temple to outrun each other in grandeur.
Kodiyettam (flag hoisting) marks the start of the festival. Followed by it first round of Fire Crackers fired. It is known as Sample Vedikettu. Innovative and varieties of fireworks are fired for one long hour starting from 7.15pm in the evening. On fourth and fifth day display of decorated elephants takes place separately by Paramekkavu Devaswom and Thiruvambady Devaswom.
On the sixth day of the festival main Thrissur Pooram is celebrated when the Pooram star rises in the sky in the Medam month of Malayalam calendar. On this day “Madathil Varavu” event takes place with more than 200 artists with various instruments participating in it. This is followed by famous Ilanjithara Melam at Vadakkumnathan temple. After this, both Paramekkavu and Thiruvambadi groups exchange colorful and crafted umbrellas. This is called Kudamattom and is the eye-catching part of the Pooram.
The farewell ceremony is done on the seventh day, “Pakal Pooram” is the event when idols from Swaraj Round are taken back to Thiruvambadi Sri Krishna Temple and Paramekkavu Bagavathi Temple. The festival is ended with a major round of fireworks. Both participants compete with each other to amaze the gathering with fireworks.This adds to the appeal of Thrissur Pooram, Kerala
History of Thrissur Pooram, Kerala
History of Thrissur Pooram, Kerala dates two centuries back. Before Thrissur Pooram, there was only one-day event Arattupuzha Pooram. On a specific year due to rains the devotees were late to Arattupuzha Pooram and were denied access into the temple. They went Raja Rama Varma (a.k.a. Sakthan Thampuran), Maharaja of Cochin and said about the embarrassment. Immediately Maharaja planned for another event. He invited ten temples situated around Vadakkunnathan Temple and divided them into two sides “Thiruvambady side” and “Paramekkavu side” and organized the event. This marked the origin of massive festival Thrissur Pooram.
Visit Thrissur to enjoy Thrissur Pooram, Kerala
Add some magic to your Kerala holiday trip with a quick visit to Thrissur. Meanwhile, don’t miss out on visiting the other many attractions in Thrissur such as Thrissur Zoo sized 13.5- acre is located in the heart of Thrissur city, Triprayar Sri Rama Temple located at the bank of Karuvannur River, Athirappilly Waterfalls, St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and many more places.
