Thrissur Pooram: religiously conservative, headily carnivalesque
The Hindu
Revellers packed the streets on Sunday to soak in festive spirit of Thrissur Pooram, where religious ardour mingled with carnival spirit.
Revellers packed the streets on Sunday to soak in festive spirit of Thrissur Pooram, where religious ardour mingled with carnival spirit.
The festival kept its promise to be picture perfect. It was religiously conservative and yet headily carnivalesque. More than 100 majestic jumbos on parade, exciting rhythm of percussion ensembles, religious ceremonies and breathtaking fireworks were on offer for the Pooram lovers.
As expected, a large number of people poured into the Thekkinkadu maidan since the morning to savour the festival glory. It was fun with roaring crowds, hypnotic drummers and pipers and plenty of eating and drinking.
Rain clouds kept off the Thrissur sky as if the gods were pleased with prayers of Pooram lovers. In spite of a red alert, the weather remained pleasant throughout the day. Thrissur witnessed heavy rain till Friday midnight.
Celebrated in the Malayalam month of Medam (April-May), Thrissur Pooram signifies the symbolic meeting of 10 temples. The festival is confined to the temples of Devis and Sasthas. Thiruvambadi and Paramekkavu Devaswoms are the main participants of the Pooram.
The processions carrying the idols of participating temples — Kanimangalam Sastha, Naithalakkavu Bhagavathy, Lalur Bhagavathy, Ayyantole Bhagavathy, Panamukkampally Sastha, Choorakkottukavu Bhagavathy, Chembukkavu Karthyayani and Karumukku Bhagavathy – left for Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple in the morning.
Arrival of the Kanimangalam Sastha marked the beginning of Pooram rituals in the morning, followed by procession from other participating temples. Presence of popular elephants Thechikkottukavu Ramachandran and Pambadi Rajan added to the grandeur of the cheru poorams this time.
Prarthana Prasad is a social media influencer, entrepreneur and a leading voice from the LGBTQ+ community. At a recent Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) Conclave held in Bengaluru she opened up about how she is often a “token ticket” for the corporate world, increasingly contacted by brands for promotion during Pride Month.