തൃശ്ശൂർ പൂരം – Thrissur Pooram, 2010

April 28, 2010 by Usha Pisharody 10 Comments

തൃശ്ശൂർ പൂരം – Thrissur Pooram, 24 April, 2010 to noon, 25th April, 2010.

You may refer to തൃശ്ശൂർ പൂരം – Thrissur Pooram, 2009, HERE. That has all the details. It would be advisable to keep this page open in another window or tab, to keep for ready reference 🙂 This one is more about the trivia 🙂 🙂

This post is about this year’s edition, with some pictures I have been lucky to get and some taken from the web. Mainly Mathrubhumi online paper. Credits where due, have been posted at the end.

Thiruvambady Ezhunellippu (തിരുവമ്പാടി എഴുനെള്ളിപ്പു്)

This year’s Pooram, was a bit different in many ways. First off, we got to the pooram late. Usually SB and I are there by about 8 am to welcome and walk along with the Thiruvambady Ezhunellipu. (Please  keep the earlier mentioned page about last year’s Pooram open, for easy access to the incomprehensible, almost, details you might find me blabbering about ). However, we made our aplogies to teh devi atop the elephant, along with the Thidambu, the plaque which carries a statue of Lord Krishna, complete with peacock feathers on his crown, in the centre.

Trivia: Apparently this thidambu is taken out only for pooram. It was made by a devotee, who got 125 sovereigns of his wife’s jewellery melted down to make this statue to grace the thidambu, for one of the Poorams, a long time ago. After the Pooram, he did not want to keep this in his house, so he gave it to the temple, to be used whenever they wished. It is to the credit of the authorities who manage the temple that they gave it a special status, to be used only with the Devi, for Pooram!

Anyways, we wandered on with the three grand and majestic pachyderms, all splendrous in their nettipattom-നെറ്റിപട്ടം-  (they wear this on their forehead) and took these pictures as we kept pace:

The Thidambu, and you can see the image of Lord Krishna at the centre. The Devi herself is carried at the base 🙂

Trivia: The bearded priest on the elephant, holding the Thidambu, is the melshanthi (the senior priest) of Thiruvambady Krishna Temple. He had been chosen to be the Melshanthi of Sabarimala temple a couple of years ago. A gentle soul, quiet and unassuming, and very accessible to every devotee 🙂

The three elphants of the procession are seen in the next picture. Photos courtsey, SB 🙂

The Madhathil Varavu (മഠത്തിൽ വരവു്)

And so after breakfast we proceeded to the next major event, ie, The Madhathil Varavu, again, the Thiruvambady procession, with the most famous Panchavadyam of the state on display.

Trivia: This panchavadyam is aired live over AIR, now telecast live over all the Malayalam Channels. It has been aired live over AIR, for decades now. Many an ardent fan of the music, and the event had only the faithful radio to tune into and be part of the celebration!

Here it is, the Madhathil Varavu… a narrow road, hundreds of onlookers, and participants 🙂

Above: In the distance under the pandal, the Madathil Varavu readies. The Panchavadyam is played there for a whole hour before the elephants start moving. The crowd gathered around gets into a frenzy with all those aficionados thronging and urging the musicians! The excitement is palpable and tangible. It moves you! And you ignore the heat, the thirst, and the crowd!

Trivia: Right behind the elephants is another procession. Of policemen 😛 They’re probably assuring the elephants, with “Dont worry, we got your backs!” It was hilarious! Like this 🙂

Now isn’t that a sight for sore eyes ??? At least they are doing their duty by the elephants if not for the poor people :P!

The Paramekkavu Ezhunellippu (പാറമേക്കാവ് എഴുനെള്ളിപ്പു്)

From the Madhathil Varavu, we moved to the Paramekkav Devi’s ezhunellippu, which had already started, about an hour into the Madhathil Varavu. Resplendent in their grandeur, and attire, were 15 elephants posing for the iconic picture that is Thrissur, during the Pooram time. The devi’s thidambu here, is ornately decorated and she has the choicest of jewels adorning it!

Above are three pictures of the Paramekkavu ezhunellippu, taken around 1 pm. We were quite exhausted by the end of this that we got home, and relaxed in front of the TV where local channels were covering the different events live.

Perhaps that is why the crowds were not to be seen in large numbers. Most people would have preferred to stay at home!

Trivia: There was this guy, perched upon that pillar in the background, still, squatting and unmoving for such a long time. He had a huge movie camera installed too, and he wore a miniature beach umbrella of sorts, you know the one that fits in like a hat, and leaves your hands free? Lol!

The Kudamattom

Did not have the energy to go for this, so no pictures have been taken. However, got this one from one of the websites that I googled for images, this morning. An unusual kuda, or umbrella, that was used by the Paramekkavu Temple Devi group, as part of the ceremony 🙂

To see the picture in its original site, click here: http://z.about.com/d/goindia/1/0/4/K/-/-/701px-ThrissurPooram-Kuda.jpg

The Vedikkettu, or Fireworks!

This was followed by the next major event in the wee hours of the next morning. The much awaited fireworks session. This year however it was delayed by almost two hours, due to a light drizzle, apparently. But it was still a feast for the eyes. Of late, however, I have found myself not liking the use of firecrackers, feeling sorry for the waste of money, and also for the sake of the poor birds, and other animals who go into a sort of a shock with all this noise and frenzy. Still, that did not stop me from marvelling at the display put up by both temples. Found a video of the same, and have included it down below. It might give you a feel of it all!

Pooram vedikkettu

Sadly, the next day, of the pooram I was working, being part of the valuation camp of CBSE, so I missed out on the Koodikaazhcha, the meeting and parting of the two sisters at Vadakkumnathan. Perhaps for next year, I shall devote more space and energy for that 🙂

In last year’s post I mentioned how Thrissur got it’s name. Got a bit more on that. Apparently, Thrissur, is named for the fact that it has three major Shiva Temples : The Vadakkumnathan, at the centre, the Midhunappilly Temple and the Erattichara temple, also close by. Factfile from my sis in law 🙂

Solilo had wondered about the name Thrissur, and now I am more than ready with this bit of news too 🙂

P.S. On 26 April, one of the pandals that had been put up and decorated by the two temples, fell in some strong gusty winds, in the afternoon, in the crowded Swaraj Round. Then followed traffic jams of mammoth proportions!! Here are the pandals, what we could get of them :), from the car we were in, on the night before the pooram!

This one above is the one by Thiruvambady

This is the one by Paramekkavu, which collapsed a day later!

Well, for this year, that is about it! 🙂 I wonder if you have understood much, but the bottom line is, I had FUN 😛 :P!

28 April… the wee hours, wen the day begins 🙂

P P  S. All the pictures, except for the first one, the Kudamattom and the last video have been taken by the SB 🙂 The first little one is from the online Mathrubhumi picture.