A ‘shorter but safer’ Pappanji to greet New Year revellers this time in Kochi
KOCHI: A notable highlight of the Cochin Carnival, a visual spectacle held during the last two weeks of December, is the burning of a giant Pappanji, a tall effigy of an old man symbolising the passing year. At the stroke of the midnight hour on December 31, the ‘Pappa’ raised at the Parade Ground will be put to fire amid traditional music and fireworks to ring in the New Year.
This year, a ‘shorter but safer’ Pappanji will be greeting the New Year revellers, a change from the usual practice of raising the height of the “Pappa” with each passing year.
“We made a conscious decision to limit the height of the ‘Pappanji’ to 50-feet, which may be shorter when compared to the ‘Pappas’ of previous years when the effigies had reached a height of up to 80 feet. This is to ensure the safety of the thousands of revellers who would gather at the venue on the D-Day,” Robert Stephen, convener of Cochin Carnival, told TNIE.
“When ‘Pappanji’ is burnt, there is a risk of the effigy breaking into two and falling over the revellers. While normally the structure could withstand the fire, we thought of adopting a safer approach this time. We’ll be putting up two barricades around the 50-ft tall Pappa, with the barricade on each side placed at a distance of 50m. So the audience will be bidding adieu to the outgoing year standing at a safe distance. Even if the entire effigy goes down, no one among the spectators will be harmed,” he explained.
The organisers are keeping their fingers crossed this time to allow maximum visitors to the site, but “not at the expense of a risk of mishaps like stampede”.
“We’ve not received any directions so far from the law enforcement authorities. Last year, they limited the number of revellers to 40,000. Police restricted entry after 4pm. The strict measures were put in place after a near stampede occurred in the 2022 event when four to five lakh people gathered at the Parade Ground to ring in the New Year.
“We’ve not decided on the same. We’re closely watching the situation and reviewing the security scenario. A decision will be made a day or two before the Pappanji burning event when we expect the maximum number of visitors,” said a senior police officer.
This year, the organisers have included new events such as archery, swimming and kayaking to bring in more vibrancy to the Cochin Carnival festivities that spread over two weeks.
“The events reflect the festive mood of the Carnival and consist of fun events and sports like a speed cycle race from Cherthala to Cochin and exclusive events like an eating competition, laughing competition, sack races, pillow fighting, kite flying competition and tug of war, thekootam, kabaddi and dive duck and dine,” Robert pointed out.