THRISSUR: Thekkinkadu Maidan witnessed a record crowd as Thrissur Pooram, the festival of festivals, unfolded a grand display of the state’s rich cultural heritage and splendour. The courtyard of Vadakkumnathan temple was packed and people were seen jostling for space to witness the cultural extravaganza. Though it drizzled for around 15 minutes as festivities touched the crescendo, it could not dampen the spirits of the Pooram lovers. They cheered as each Devaswom raised new parasols. The mobile phone cameras were busy capturing each moment and as the Kudamattom ended, the jumbos struggled to leave the ground wading through the cheering crowd.
Though the sun was sizzling in the forenoon, a cool breeze came as a blessing to spirited Pooram fans in the evening. The dark clouds over the horizon did raise concern among organisers but did not stop the flow of people. “I have never seen such a huge crowd at Pooram before. The maidan was so packed that people struggled to enter or leave. The Kudamattom was spectacular with the Thiruvambady temple displaying a remote-controlled neon parasol and Paramekkavu bringing a variety of parasols including that of an Adiyogi with LED lighting,” said Reghunath Menon, a Poomkunnam resident.
MORE VENUES TO WATCH FIREWORKS DISPLAY
Following huge demand of festival fans and devaswoms, the district administration allowed the entry of public to more buildings in Swaraj Round for the fireworks display at 2.30am on Wednesday. The police had listed over 100 buildings in Swaraj Round as unsafe for public to stand during the pyrotechnics show. The list was later revised.
Elephant runs amok
Thrissur: An elephant ran amok during the pooram of Kanimangalam Sastha on Tuesday.The tusker, Machad Dharman, that was the accompanying elephant for the parade of Kanimangalam Sastha, turned violent and ran to Sree Moolasthanam from Naikkanal when the pooram began. Since the incident happened in the early hours, there were only a few people at the place. No untoward incident took place. Elephant squad volunteers swung into action and managed to bring the tusker under control at Sree Moolasthanam in Thekkinkadu Maidan.