Kerala is a land of thousands of temples. Its tradition and culture is
one of the richest in the whole of India. Each temple has its own unique
history, significance and relevance. Some of them are locally relevant and some
all over the state. Associated with these temples are numerous festivals which
add to the richness of its culture. One such important temple festival of
Kerala is Thrissur Pooram. Pooram is nothing but the name of a star or a
nakshatra in Hindu mythology. There are a total of twenty seven of them. However
it is not just an ordinary star, but quite a significant one. Thrissur is one
of the largest cities of Kerala which is home to the Vadakkumnathan Temple. The
pooram festival that is celebrated out here is known as the “Pooram of the Poorams”
and it is so grand and magnificent that it has been declared as the “most
spectacular festival event on the planet” by UNESCO. It is by far the festival
held in the state of Kerala.
The history of Thrissur Pooram
Kerala dates back to more than two centuries ago. The ruler of Cochin,
Sakthan Thampuran or Raja Rama Varma decided to have an own festival in his
region. Thus breaking all traditions he began the Thrissur Pooram in 1798. From
that year onwards this festival is still celebrated with great passion and
enthusiasm and has become the greatest temple festivals in the whole of the
state. Unifying all the 10 temples in and around the Vadakkunnathan temple, the
ruler of the region then began the festival of Thrissur Pooram on a large
scale. He divided the temples into two groups, the western and he eastern
group. All the temples were supposed to send their procession to pay respect to
the presiding deity Lord Shiva.
This festival is mainly celebrated in the month of April; however the
date varies every year. In Malayalam calendar it falls in the month of Medam.
According to legend on this day, all the gods and goddesses of neighbouring
temples meet together for a grand celebration. This festival goes on
continuously for about 36 hours and is witnessed by thousands of people who
come from all over to take part in it. The two important temples that make this
festival grander are the Thiruvampadi and Paramekkavu. One of the major
attractions of this festival is the ‘Madathil Varavu’ where more than 200
artists participate. They use different kinds of traditional instruments like
Thimila, Madhalam, Trumpet, Edakka and Cymbal. There is also a huge exhibition
of elephant decorants that is used during the procession called Ana Chamaya
Pradharshanam. This event takes place in various schools of the region. The
procession of the elephants is a spectacular event to see, as about more than
50 elephants that is beautifully decorated with various traditional ornaments
like bells Kolams, umbrellas etc, March towards the temples. This spectacular
event comes to an end with a magnificient display of fireworks which takes
place early morning of the next day after Pooram. for more visit : http://www.keralatourpackage.org/
