Thrissur Pooram

Thrissur, one among the best states in Kerala is famous by the name itself, as it reveals one of the greatest celebrations of the state, known as Thrissur pooram, the festival of elephants. It cannot be said as just a celebration or festival, but it is also the feeling of every Keralite. There is no discrimination based on religion or caste, each and everyone celebrates it together in unity. It is the celebration of unity and togetherness. During this event, there are lots of shops put around for business as it is the right time for people to make their living. There is also a great exhibition that is put up at the spot known as the Thrissur pooram exhibition.

Thrissur pooram takes place at a compound known as Thekinkad ground. It is a big ground in circle shape and there are two temples built back to back in this ground. These are huge temples and are a tourist attraction. Since these two temples are opposite to each other, the entrance to each temple is on the opposite side. So we need to round the ground in order to reach the temples which make up for the compound. There is also a park in the compound along with a lot of greenery and pavements. A lot of people come from jogging here in the morning. This is also a main attractive spot and so many people come here with families to spend their leisure time.

So Thrissur pooram is a competition between the elephants of the two famous temples known as vadakumnadan-thiruvambady and paramekkavu. Vadakumnadan is the first temple present in the compound and thiruvambady is the second one. These two temples are one actually with two faces on the circle. So they make up for the first time while another temple which is opposite to the round shaped compound is the second temple. Hence elephants of these two temples compete for each other to win the cup. A lot of preparations go on before months in order to invite this beautiful festival.

Workers start making umbrellas of different colors and shapes for this event. People who sit on these elephants constantly keep changing umbrellas by rotating them continuously. Likewise, they keep changing umbrellas for all the elephants. Elephants of the two temples stand opposite to each other in a row. Say, for example, there may be 50 elephants standing in a row facing the 50 of other temples. So it’s really a huge ground and lakhs of people come here making the place crowded. There are also special fireworks arranged in the early morning. It is a two-day event. So people from all parts of the world come to take part in this event.

Apart from all this, there are other programs going around like amusement park, magic shows, music, and dance programmes and much more. There is also this so-called shinkarimelam which is a cultural part of the state where hundreds of performers play the dholak or table together constantly in a beat. People dance and enjoy together for the tune making it really colorful. It’s also a holiday for the people and they invite their relatives, make sweets and buy dresses. On the whole, everybody relaxes and enjoys themselves there.