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| April 24, 2010 | Hundreds of thousands converge as 'Thrissur Pooram' begins in Kerala | |
Thrissur (Kerala): Hundreds of thousands of devotees and tourists participated in the colourful temple festival, 'Thrissur Pooram' which commenced here on Saturday. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, 'Thrissur Pooram' the biggest
festival of Kerala. It is said that King Sakthan, who ruled Cochin in the late
18th century, started the festival. The word 'Pooram' literally means a group
or a meeting. It is believed that the Gods and Goddesses meet for a day of celebration,
which falls in the month of April-May every year. The festival commences with
the arrival of small rival elephant processions, which carry their respective
deities from various temples in different villages across Thrissur, and culminates
at the grounds of Vadakkunnathan Temple . The main temples Paramekkavu and Thiruvambadi
hoisted their flags to announce the beginning of the weeklong celebrations to
be held in connection with the festival. The procession from Thiruvambadi began
at around 8 a.m. from the temple premises in a formation of three caparisoned
tuskers offering an enchanting sight at the wee hours. Also present on this occasion
were a large number of foreign tourists. They enjoyed the festivity and were thrilled
to see so many decorated elephants at one place. "I came here especially for this
festival because I heard all about it in newspapers. The decorations on the elephants
are amazing. The music is very good as well. It's really loud...So many people
also...It's really exciting," said John, a U.K. tourist. Thrissur Pooram is called
'the pooram of all poorams'. It the biggest or the best of all poorams. The Thrissur
pooram, is celebrated every year, on the Pooram day, in the month of Medam (mid-April
to mid-may) month as per the Malayalam calendar. While all poorams have a huge
influence on surrounding neighborhoods and towns, few other festivals require
their active involvement. Thrissur town plays host, for 36 hours from the wee
hours of the pooram day, to one of the most largest collection of people and elephants.
The richly decorated elephant, as seen during the Thrissur pooram, is now globally
recognized, and its association with Kerala. On the pooram day, fifty (50) or
more elephants pass through the very center of Thrissur town, the Vadakkunnathan
temple. The main features of the pooram festival are these decorated elephants
with their nettipattam (decorative headdress), beautiful craftedthe kolam, decorative
bells and ornaments etc. |
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