THRISSUR: The moment the sun set on Sunday and the heat got tolerable, the thin crowd at Thekkinkadu Maidan swelled to thousands. Phones held high, people jostled for space in front of the Thekke Gopura Nada as caparisoned elephants lined up on either sides for the famed kudamattam ceremony.
The 15 minutes that followed served as a balm to the pain caused by the April 21 tragedy, uniting the large crowd in celebrations. In the end, the cancellation of the fireworks display and scaled-down festivities did not dampen the Pooram spirit.
The ceremonies began at 6am with the procession of Kanimangalam Sastha. Ghataka Pooram – the parading of elephants and processions of other participating temples— followed.
Deities Karamukku Bhagavathy, Chembukkavu Bhagavathy, Panamukkumpally Sastha, Laloor Bhagavathy, Choorakkottukavu Bhagavathy, Ayyanthole Karthyayani and Naithalakkavu Bhagavathy held their pooram and bowed to Sree Vadakkumnathan.
“It is always mesmerising to watch the elephants, carrying the idol of the deity, coming out of Thekke Gopura Nada. It invokes a positive energy and connect us to our roots,” said Rakesh, who came from Kuwait to be part of the Pooram.
By the time the Ghataka Pooram concluded, the Thiruvambady Bhagavathy completed the pooja at Brahmaswam Madom and the panchavadyam began. Kongad Madhu on ‘thimila’ led the panchavadyam for the ‘madathil varavu’ of the deity.
When the procession reached Sreemoolasthanam, the baton was passed to Cherussery Kuttan Marar, who gave a scintillating performance as the first-time pramani of the Pooram.
Competing devaswoms make every second count
“I consider it a blessing to lead the pandimelam for Thiruvamabdy Bhagavathy this time,” he told TNIE.
Around 2pm, the Sree Vadakkumnathan temple premises was filled with people, cutting across generations, age and gender, waiting for ‘Elanjithara Melam’, the world’s largest percussion ensemble, for Paramekkavu Bhagavathy. For four years, Kizhakkoottu Aniyan Marar has been its pramani.
By 6pm , the largely-empty Thekkinkadu Maidan transformed as a sea of Pooram lovers poured in to witness Paramekkavu Bhagavathy descend the Thekke Gopura Nada and stand face to face with Thiruvambady Bhagavathy. It was time for the kudamattam ceremony. Though restricted to 15 minutes, the ceremony was as exciting as its longer iterations, perhaps even more.
Without wasting a second, the two factions competitively exchanged around 17 sets of colourful parasols. The Paramekkavu faction began with a set of bright blue parasols while Thiruvambady replied with a combo of red and green parasols. Each minute the exchange got more interesting as orange, yellow, lavender, white, pink and fluorescent green parasols made appearances amid loud cheers.
“Each parasol is specially crafted. Right from selecting the fabric, often silk, to deciding on what motifs or images should go with it, artists of both Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu factions spend a lot of time, energy and money to ensure the best moments for the thousands who throng Thekkinkadu Maidan for this moment,” said Vinod, another Pooram fan.
Short & sweet
15 minutes
The kudamattam ceremony was cut short to 15 minutes this year in the wake of the April 21 tragedy that claimed 15 lives in Mundathicode, Thrissur
Over 1 hour
normal duration of kudamattam
Fireworks display cancelled in the wake of explosion