THRISSUR : As Kerala’s cultural capital returns to normal life after Thrissur Pooram, social media is awash with debates over whether it was appropriate for the Thiruvambady faction to raise the ‘Messi Kuda’ during the festival.
The ‘Kudamattam’ ceremony at Thrissur Pooram is famous for its mesmerising array of parasols, displayed in front of a sea of devotees and festival enthusiasts who have thronged the Thekkinkadu Maidan from near and far.
This year, taking the festive spirit to new heights, the Thiruvambady faction raised the ‘Messi Kuda’ — a cutout of Lionel Messi holding the trophy after Argentina won the FIFA Men’s World Cup.
Though it had received huge applause at the time, many devotees opposed the move. “The Pooram is a religious festival. It is not appropriate to bring such unreligious aspects to the ceremony, which represents the state’s culture. Moreover, it will make the competition an ugly one and will affect the soul of the festival,” shared Ganesh, a social media user.
According to Girish Kumar, secretary of Thiruvambady Devaswom, “Special umbrellas are generally prepared by young people in and around the temple. This time too, they made the umbrellas, and the committee didn’t intervene. However, we never expected such interventions as the Messi Kuda. In any case, the committee has decided not to take this debate further,” Girish said.
It is not the first time that such aspects found a place in the Kudamattam ceremony. After India won the Kargil War in 1999, Thiruvambady raised umbrellas with cutouts of a military officer.
“It was a tribute to the nation’s army, and we used the picture of an army man for the same. However, in the previous pooram, when the Paramekkavu faction displayed an umbrella carrying the images of freedom fighters, it was criticised by many for including the picture of V D Savarkar, an RSS ideologist. The umbrella was not used.