Very well-known as “God’s own country”, Kerala is a lovely and beautiful place in India for its rich greenery and pleasant atmosphere. When it comes to traditions and cultures, Kerala finds the best with its unique culture and rituals. Different festivals and fairs of Kerala stand as major attractions for travelers to visit the place. Among numerous famous festivals, the Thrissur Pooram festival of Kerala takes place during summer and holds great attraction for its spectacular celebrations. Compared to the different Poorams of Kerala Thrissur Pooram is quite popular.
Now we go in deep to know about the prominence and attractions of the festival in detail. Let’s check in on what made this festival popular among all in Kerala.
About the Thrissur Pooram Festival:
Pooram means “Temple Festival”, the festival takes place at the Vadukkannathan Swamy Temple in Thrissur town. Every year during April and May this famous festival will take place and also this festival is known as “Summer harvest festival”. The dates of the festival will be fixed as per the Malayalam calendar in the month of Medam. Continuously for a week, the celebrations of the festival will light up the Thrissur town full of festivities and appear in a vibrant look.
The festival is the celebration of a group of 10 neighboring temples around Thrissur divided into two groups namely Thiruvambady and Paramekkav. The festival begins between these two groups by challenging themselves in showcasing elephant caparisons and fireworks. From the early morning to the evening, the festival will take place with a display of wonderful arts and performances between the two. At the venue of the festival, you can experience a beautiful and unforgettable visual treat.
What history says about the Thrissur Pooram:
During the 18th and 19th centuries, this festival was inaugurated by Raja Rama Verma, who is the king of Cochin. It is a 200-year-old festival. The reason behind the formation of the Thrissur Pooram festival is Arattupuzha Pooram. Why because at that time there was only one Pooram which is Arattupuzha Pooram in Arattupuzha. All surrounding regions and Thrissur people were used to visiting the Pooram every year.
But once due to heavy rains, Thrissur people were late for the festival. Then they were not allowed to participate in the festival. This made the people of Thrissur angry and went to King Raja Rama Verma for justice. Then he gave a solution to the Thrissur and its surrounding villages people to celebrate their own Temple festival.
He ordered the 10 temples surrounding Thrissur to bring their deities to Vadakkunnathan Temple to celebrate a massive temple festival. From the day this Thrissur Pooram festival was started it gained huge popularity with its mass celebrations. Today, Thrissur Pooram is famous among all the Poorams of Kerala even Arattupuzha.
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The prominence of the festival:
The main importance of this Pooram is here you can experience the perfect view of Unity in Diversity. Even though it is a Hindu festival every religion will take part in the festival. A very interesting thing about the festival is the ornaments prepared for the celebrations were made by churches and the pandal decorations will be decorated by Islamic community people.
Like the way here you can see the significance of Unity in Diversity. During this festival, all the surrounding villagers will gather at one stage to celebrate the event lavishly. With these huge gatherings, villagers had a good connection among themselves in carrying the festival. In the process, the festival builds a good relationship among the neighboring regions.
How the celebrations will be carried out:
The celebrations of the festival begin a week before the festival to make the occasion vibrant and marvelous. As per the mythological stories, the theme of the festival is to celebrate the visit of Devi to Lord Shiva housed in Vadakkunnathan Temple. Because of this reason, the venue of Pooram will be decorated stunningly and spectacularly.
Simply you can’t describe its beauty in words. Another important thing about the ornaments and decoration of the festival is they won’t use any single thing for next year’s festival. Alike in man aspects and things, Thrissur Pooram had gained mass popularity in Kerala.
Coming the festival, by early morning the festival begins with the Madathil Varavu ceremony. Nearly 200 artists will play their musical instruments inside the temple.
Later, the central attraction of the festival Kudamattom will take place. It is the ceremony of 15 elephants and a musical band team of two groups will enter the temple. Thiruvambadi and Paramekkavu are the groups, who run the celebrations with their wonderful acts. Each group represents 5 temples of surrounding villages.
During the ceremony, the two groups facing each other exchange their ornamented umbrellas or parasols brought on by elephants. The name “Kuda” means Umbrella and “Mattom” means Change. It is the Kudamattom ceremony, a crowd-puller of the Pooram.
Next, Ilanjithara Melam is the key attraction of the celebration. At the Ilanji tree in Vadakkunnathan temple, this act will take place. It is a wonderful Melam to experience at the festival. With perfect rhythmic percussions, the Mellam will be proceeded by the artists. It is a traditional act of Keralites. Another wonderful musical performance Panchavadyam is also a key attraction. It is a group of five percussions with wind instruments musical performance, which is a lovely one to enjoy. Overall, Kudamattom, Melam, Panchavadyam, and many things of the festival glorify its beauty and charisma. With all these, Thrissur Pooram is remarked as the largest gathering festival in Asia.
After completing all the processions and rituals, the festival comes to an end with the Punacharam Cholli Piriyal ceremony. All the 10 temple idols that came from surrounding villages will be sent back to their respective temples. At last with a grand ceremony of firing the firecrackers without a break known as Pakal Vedikkettu the temple festival will be ended.
From the morning beginning with a wonderful musical play to the evening massive fireworks, the Thrissur Pooram festival of Kerala created an impact for its grandiosity and crowd-pulling.
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Attractions of the festival:
The major attractions of the temple are undoubtedly its musical performances and traditional acts. Madathil Varavu, Kudamattom, Ilanjithara Melam, Panchavadyam, and many others stand as major attractions to witness during the festival. Especially the decorations of ornamented elephants, parasols, and fireworks will be the unforgettable experiences of the festival.
In Thrissur City exhibition of ornaments and decorations of the temple will be displayed it is also a wonderful attraction of the festival. So don’t forget to visit the exhibition. Simply the culture and old traditions of the festival are the key highlights of the Pooram.
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When Thrissur Pooram dates are scheduled for 2025:
The festival will be celebrated as per the lunar calendar. On the day when the moon is seen with the Pooram star, this festival will be scheduled. As per the local calendar of Kerala on Medam month this festival is celebrated. In general, between April and May, this festival will be celebrated.
This year 2025, Thrissur is going to be celebrated from the 05th of May to the 07th of May 2025.
Where the festival will be celebrated:
Sri Vadakkunnathan Temple is located in the center of Thrissur city. This temple is the venue of the festival celebrations every year. To reach the temple, it is very close to the railway station and airport. Thrissur Railway Station is 2km away and Cochin International Airport is just 6 km away from the temple. By regular buses or hiring a cab within a few minutes, we can reach the temple.
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Images and Video of Thrissur Pooram Festival
Conclusion:
This is all about the beauty of Kerala’s Thrissur Pooram. If you want to enjoy the culture, mass gatherings, wonderful musical performances, traditional dances, elephant marches, and a lot more means, Thrissur Pooram is a lovely and must-experienceable festival in Kerala. Are you interested in joining the festival? So lock in a few days in May and enjoy the festival with love.
