THRISSUR: Despite the restrictions and the enhanced security around the cultural capital in the wake of the Puttingal tragedy last year, Thrissur Pooram - billed as the mother of all festivals in South India for its sheer brilliance - has proved nothing would match its magnificence and splendour, presenting festival revelers an avenue to immerse themselves in the colour and sounds.
Mighty jumbos decorated with rich paraphernalia, hundreds of percussion artists, around 1,500 extravagantly decorated parasols, toned down but dazzling fireworks displays...Pooram once again displayed the rich tradition and cultural contents of Thrissur.
The Pooram celebrations began in the morning with the ceremonial entrance of the Kanimangalam Sastha Pooram through the southern gate around 7.30 am followed by other small Poorams. Thousands of percussion lovers thronged the ‘Ilanjithara’ at the Sree Vadakkumnatha Temple by 2 pm for the melam by around 300 percussion instrumentalists led by maestro Peruvanam Kuttan Marar.
When the melam ended, passing through various stages and rhythmic cycles, it was as if a heavy downpour that had been lashing the area over two hours had ended.
In fact, music lovers soaked themselves in the mesmerising ‘panchavadyam’ led by Kongatu Madhu during the ‘madathil varavu’ ceremony.
The festival fever reached its crescendo with the ‘Kudamattom’ ceremony in the evening after the two-hour-long, free-floating Ilanjithara ensemble performance.
As the procession of the Paramekkavu contingent featuring 15 elephants moved through the southern entrance of the Vadakkumnathan Temple, elephants from the Thiruvambady contingent entered the Vadakkumnathan Temple through its western entrance to take on the former in the ‘Kudamattom’ ceremony.
The excitement of the crowd was palpable as elephants from the Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu contingents stood facing each other and sets of multi-coloured parasols were displayed at the ‘Kudamattom.’
The main fireworks display will be held on Saturday morning. The idols of the Paramekkavu Bhagavathy and Thiruvambady Bhagavathy will be taken to Thekkinkad Maidan for the farewell ceremony marking the end of Thrissur Pooram.
FB page Thrissur 360 a hit on social media
Thrissur: People who were unable to see the Thrissur pooram in person are flocking to their computers and mobile phones to catch a glimpse of the annual festival and that, too, in full 360 degrees. Thrissur 360, a Facebook page, has become an instant hit among the people, as it allows visitors to view an image of the festival and the temple from any angle, without leaving their homes.
“The technology is simple. Just mount the Insta 360 lens on the mobile camera and capture the image as usual,” said Dhishan Chandran, who works in an event management company and is the brain behind the page. “Many people are now connected to page which was started to take the festival to maximum number of people using the technology,” he said.