KOLLAM: Braving the heavy downpour accompanied by thunder and lightning, thousands of enthusiasts thronged the Asramam Maidan to witness the Kollam Pooram extravaganza which marked the culmination of the annual Vishu festival of the Asramam Sree Krishna Swami Temple here on Sunday evening.
Fifteen caparisoned elephants each from Thamarakulam Sree Mahaganapathy Temple and Puthiyakavu Sree Bhagavathy Temple featured in the Kudamattom ceremony.
To the excitement of the people gathered at the Asramam Maidan, ornamental umbrellas were switched one after one by both sides. Heavy rain and thunder began after the ‘kudamattam’ ceremony began. However, it did not mar the enthusiasm of thousands who gathered at the maidan.
The ‘melam’ and ‘kudamattam’ was broken in between owing to heavy downpour and resumed after half an hour.
The pooram ceremonies had begun earlier in the day with ‘pooram ezhunnallathu’ from 14 temples arriving at the Sree Krishna Swami Temple. The tuskers which participated in the ‘ezhunallathu’ were given a ceremonial bath, which was followed by a sumptuous meal on the temple premises.
The ‘ezhunnelippu’ of the deities, Thamarakkulam Maha Ganapathy and Puthiyakavu Sri Bhagavathy were held at 2 p m following which the tuskers from both sides were paraded to the maidan and lined up facing each other.
The dazzling fireworks marked the completion of the pooram ceremony.