Title : CASE ON ‘THRISSUR POORAM ’
Author (S): Mr. ARUN MURALIDHARAN
Ms. DAS VIDYA YATHEENDRA
Ms. NAVYA GOPI
Mr. SAYOOJ M. SUNDAR
Mr. VARUN C.
Faculty Guide: Ms. ANJU RAVI
ABSTRACT
Thrissur Pooram, the pooram of all Poorams, falls in April every year, held at the Thekkinkadu Maidan or the teak forest. The festival was structured by the King of Cochin, Sakthan Thampuran, two centuries ago, for two public temples- Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu. He himself is said to have drawn up the 36-hour hectic schedule of the festival. It is celebrated with a colourful procession of caparisoned elephants, parasol exchanges, drum concerts, display of pyro-techniques and much more. The grand finale of this festival is marked with a function of bidding farewell to the deities of the temples carried by the elephants following a spectacular fire works display, which is held in the midnight. The participation of large numbers of people and elephants, through the milling crowds drawn from all religions, castes and creed is a striking feature. The sustainability factors include infrastructure development, road and transport facilities thereby increasing the standard of living of people, waste management initiatives, locality and community development, hospitable nature of the residents, entrepreneurship and job opportunities etc
THRISSUR POORAM
INTRODUCTION:
Kerala is famous for its scenic beauty and large water bodies; it is often referred to as a tourist’s paradise. One of the main districts of Kerala is Thrissur. Thrissur is linked by rail and road to the major towns inside and outside Kerala. The nearest airport is Cochin International Airport, which is about 58 km from Thrissur town. Thrissur, often referred to as ‘Southern Kailasa’ or the ‘cultural capital’ of Kerala has become synonymously associated with Thrissur pooram, the grand annual event celebrated in the month of April-May (month of ‘Medam’ as per the Malayalam calendar). The word ‘pooram’ literally means a group or a meeting, which now has grown to a brand name, which has grown beyond the umbrella brand of Kerala ‘Gods own country’. UNESCO, after constant observations for years, all over the world has adjudged Thrissur Pooram as “the most spectacular festival event on this planet”. Thrissur pooram is now the most famous tourist attraction of the state.
HISTORY OF POORAM:
The Thrissur pooram is considered to have originated 203 years back. The annual visiting of the deities of the temples of Thrissur on the elephants used to be a sacred practice since ancient times. But once, the devotees of the deities of Thiruvambady (Lord Krishna) and Paramekkavu (Goddess Bhagavathy) could not make their annual visit to Aaratupuzha temple (12 km south of the town) within the auspicious time, because of heavy rains. The visit was rescheduled and because of the inauspicious timing, the Aaratupuzha temple authorities prohibited them from entering the Aaratupuzha Pooram. Hence the festival could not take place that year and the devotees were depressed, as this festival used to be a massive assembly of 108 deities. Seeing the depression of the devotees, His Highness Ramavarma Raja (Sakthan Thampuran), the then ruler of the erstwhile Cochin state, decided to hold the pooram in Thrissur. For this purpose, he allotted 60 acres of land in the teak forest, which is famously known as ‘Tekkinkadu’ – where the Vadakunnathan temple (Lord Shiva) is situated.
The pooram festival was structured two centuries ago. Healthy competitions in kudamaatom, chamayams, pandals and fireworks between the Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu temple devotees are staged to perfection, which add to the colour and splendor of the event. It is believed that Lord Shiva blesses the devotees of the deity, which out do in their performance.
In olden days, it was purely conducted as a ritualistic event which was basically attended by the natives of the place. As the grandeur of the event grew, people from the neighbouring districts started visiting this place to participate in the festivities of Thrissur Pooram. The Devaswom (the administrative body of the temple) started promoting this
event as a tourist attraction with the full support of the District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC). Even though this event has been promoted as a tourist attraction, the devaswom has ensured that the ritualistic aspect of the pooram doesn’t get diluted with the passage of time and fame.
THE ORGANIZERS:
The major organizers of the Thrissur pooram are the Thiruvambady devaswom, Paramekkavu devaswom (which happens to be private bodies) and Thrissur Corporation. The major participants of the event are Thiruvambady devaswom and the Paramekkavu devaswom. The Vadakkunnathan temple acts as a host for this event. The devotees of the deities of Thiruvambady temple & Paramekkavu temple pay their offerings to the presiding deity of Vadakkunnathan temple. This offering is done as a symbolic gesture as Gods themselves making their offerings to the Vadakkunnathan deity. The Vadakkunnathan temple does not involve itself in any of the ritualistic aspects of this festival. The deities of both the temples are brought to the Vadakkunnathan temple in a procession led by the elephants of each of these temples. In addition to these two major participants, eight smaller temples from the near-by areas also add up to the pomp and pageantry of the festival by participating in the festivities of this festival.
ATTRACTIONS OF POORAM:
The main attractions of Pooram include elephants, pooram exhibition, sample fireworks, ‘chamayam’ (elephant accoutrements), ‘madathil varavu’ (procession of the Goddess to Vadakkunnathan temple with the powerful rhythm of panchavadyam which is an ensemble of five instruments which includes two varieties of drums, conch, cymbals and the trumphet), elanjithara melam (pandi melam performed below the Elanji tree), kudamattom (random competition of umbrellas), rathri vedikkatu (fireworks in the midnight) pakal pooram (in the second day of Pooram accompanied with chendamelam) and to the last but not the least is the upacharam chollal (the farewell feast).
Seven days prior to the Pooram, the ritual of ‘kodiyettam’, the flag hoisting, formally announces the commencement of the ritual. One of the main attractive features of pooram is the exhibition conducted by both the devaswoms. The exhibition started as early as 1932. Till 1948, only the Thrissur Corporation was in charge of running the exhibition and the profit was taken by them. The process continued till 1962. In 1963, the stadium committee took over the charge, but the temples were not given the share in the profits. That year, the pooram was celebrated only as a small ritual following which the exhibition also failed. So in Nov. 1963, another committee was given charge of this, which constituted primarily of the members from both the devaswoms.
The amount collected from exhibition is equally divided between both devaswoms and is exclusively used for hosting of Thrissur pooram. The exhibition provides a platform for the Coir Board, Handloom Development Board, Agricultural University and small scale handicraft units, to showcase their talents. Small traders from various states like Punjab (cloth merchants), West Bengal (jute products), Rajasthan (bed sheets and pickles), Andhra Pradesh (Hyderabadi pearls) etc also participate in this exhibition.
ACTIVITIES:
The organizers are using different measures to promote this grand event. The number of tourists coming to enjoy the spectacular event is increasing every year. The devaswoms has undertaken the installation of a police control room, gallery (a high seating arrangement especially for the VIPs and the international tourists), area for media coverage and have also undertaken provisions needed for maintaining law and order during the festivities.
The rush for pooram is such that the international tourists have reserved the seats for the gallery for the coming two years. District Tourism Promotion Council is responsible for the issual of the pass to the tourists free of cost.
There are basically two types of tourists, one group which comes through the tourism council and the other is through the private agencies. Based on their purpose of visit, the tourists can be classified into 3 groups.
· Tourists who come exclusively for enjoying the pooram,
· Domestic tourists (who form the major part of observers) and
· Tourists who make a visit to the place as a part of their tourism package.
For the international tourists, it is the splendidly decorated elephants which steal the lime light, whereas for the domestic tourists it is the fireworks and melams.
CHALLENGES FACED BY THE DEVASWOM:
Unfortunately, there are no 5 star hotels in Thrissur and so many international tourists find it difficult to stay in that situation. Many tourists often find Cochin a suitable place for accommodation.
There is a huge cost incurred by both the devaswoms for the spectacle. Each side incurs almost around Rs.40 lakhs. The remaining funds are raised by way of donations received from individuals and also from the institutions of the five ‘deshams’. The donations are also received from international tourists and NRI’s.
THRISSUR POORAM AND THE SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES:
The various promotional activities include word of mouth, print and media coverage. Last year through DTPC, 115 Italian tourists came to view the Thrissur Pooram following the word of mouth publicity from their friends. DTPC is the main tourism promoting agency for Thrissur Pooram.
There is a decentralized system of working, which involves active participation from both Devaswom and local community in hosting this event. Many research students and journalists have written articles on this in order to promote the event. Almost all news channels and regional channels promote this through exclusive media coverage and “Aana pradarshanam” (display of elephants) which is held ahead of Pooram is also a major crowd puller for the domestic tourists and the local people.
Apart from these, the sample pooram and sample ‘vedikkettu’, ‘chamayam’ exhibitions are in a way promoting Thrissur Pooram. Sample vedikketttu and chamayam are held two days before the pooram.
Because of the increasing number of tourists coming to Thrissur, the infrastructure in the area has seen a considerable improvement over the years. The road transport and lodging facilities have improved. The number of shops in the area has increased, which in turn increased the trade and commerce in that part of the town, thereby increasing the standard of living of the people. The Devaswom takes care of the waste management system and it is efficiently disposed off by the municipality.
There is congruence between different cultures of the world. This is considered to be a festival of humanity and hence all the people participate keeping aside their religious sentiments. The most striking feature of the Thrissur Pooram is the secular aspect in which it is conducted. All communities, regardless of caste, creed and religion take active part in this event. Most of the ‘pandals’ are the craft work of the experts from the Muslim community and the umbrella stitching and sequins is done by the local people.
The local people has benefited from this event in terms of employment opportunities through the display of pandals, elephant accoutrement, chamayams, preparation of vedikettu, temple decorating etc. The chamayam is kept for display two days ahead of pooram. The local auto and taxi drivers are also indirectly benefited through the inflow of tourists during this period.
Many foreigners are interested to learn the ancient art forms of Kerala; the Kerala Kalamandalam situated at Thrissur offers them the same. The ayurveda centres also take advantage of the tourists visiting the pooram. After Pooram, they spent a few more days in Kerala. This is to see the Irinjalakuda Temple festival, which last for 10 days.
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ANNEXURE:
- Vadakkunnathan temple – one of the largest temples in Kerala dedicated to Lord Siva, located in Thrissur. It is over a thousand years old and a classic example of Kerala style of architecture.
- Devaswoms – A private enterprise which looks after the functions of temples.
- Kodiyettam – Seven days prior to the Pooram, the ritual of Kodiyettam, the flag hoisting ceremony, formally announces the commencement of the festival to all the participating temples.
- Elanjithara melam - the majestic melam performed below the Elanji tree with an assembly of more than 250 musicians, playing pandi melam lined up in front of the elephants and the crowd.
- Vedikettu – fire works which forms the attractive part of Thrissur Pooram.
- Pakal pooram – in the second day of Pooram, both the deities (Paramekkavu Bhagavathy and Thiruvambady Bhagavathy) assemble once again outside the Vadakkunnathan temple for another display of visual and musical splendor this time accompanied with chenda melam.
- Tekkinkadu – the sprawling 60 acres of land which was once the teak forest ground, cleared by Sakthan Thampuran to conduct the Pooram.
- Chamayams – On the previous day of the grand festival of Thrissur Pooram, the Chamayam or the paraphernalia like caparisons, colourful parasols, and other ornaments that the elephants are being adorned with during the festivities are exhibited .
- Sakthan Thampuran – the actual name of sakthan thampuran was Raja Rama Varma who was the king of Cochin and his palace was in Thrissur.
- Madathil varavu – the procession of thiruvambadi bhagavathy to Vadakkunnathan temple accompanied by the powerful rhythm of Panchavadyam. Panchavadyam is a musical art form comprising of instruments Thimila, Madhalam, Elathalam, Kombu and Kuzhal.
The Process of Pooram:
Pooram starts off with the flag hoisting which is the marking of the ceremony. This is followed by the coming of Kanimangalam Sasthavu (The Lord) early in the morning, followed by the other 8 temples, which goes on till 12-30. Thiruvambady bhagawathy starts her journey on the caparisoned elephant and proceeds towards the Vadakkunnathan temple, after a ritual known as ‘Irraki pooja’ with the famous Panchavadyam.
Paramekkavu bagavathy starts their Pooram by 12 p.m. By 2 p.m they come near by ilanjithara where the famous ‘ilanjithara melam’ is being conducted. After that the famous kudamattom takes place, which starts from 5.30 p.m and continues to more than one and half hours. The process continues in the night too. Almost by 3 o’clock Pooram ends and then comes the most famous attractive rathri vedikkatu, which continues for almost 1 hour.
The next day both deities meet once more before Vadakkunnathan for pakal pooram accompanied by chenda melam. At 12p.m both sides finish their poorams and both the deities have the Farewell.
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