Naithalakkavu Bhagavathy, atop famous elephant Ernakulam Sivakumar, declared opened the Thrissur Pooram by opening the Thekkegopura Nada of Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple, known as the Vilambaram ceremony, on Saturday morning.
Pooram festivities will unfurl in all its splendour at the Thekkinkadu maidan on Sunday. A curious assortment of ceremonies, traditional percussion ensembles, pyrotechnic shows and elephant parades, Thrissur Pooram attracts a large mass of spectators.
Thrissur Pooram is a symbolic meeting of deities of 10 temples in the region. While Thiruvambadi and Paramekkavu are the main participants of the 36-hour-long festival, other participating temples are Naithalakkavu, Ayyanthole, Karumukku, Lalur, Choorakkattukara, Chembukkavu, Kanimangalam and Panamukkumpally.
The meticulously planned festivities begin on the pooram day with ezhunnellippu of Kanimangalam Sastha. Processions from other temples follow.
Around 100 elephants, which will be participating at various events of the main pooram and cheru poorams, underwent fitness tests on Saturday. The line-up of elephants for the fitness test itself excites elephant lovers. Almost all legendary elephants in the State are participating in the festival this year.
The presence of Thechikkottukavu Ramachandran, a legendary elephant which enjoys a huge fan following, for the procession of Naithalakkavu temple, and another famous elephant, Pambadi Rajan, in the procession of Karthyayani Bhagavathy will be an attraction this time.
The famous Ilanjithara Melam under the ilanji tree on the Sree Vadakkunnathan temple premises and Madathil Varavu melam of Thiruvambadi will expectedly serve a sumptuous experience for the percussion enthusiasts.
This time, both the Thiruvambadi and Paramekkavu devaswoms have overhauled their percussion teams. The remarkable change is at the helm of Ilanjithara Melam.
Peruvanam Kuttan Marar, who had led Ilanjithara Melam for the last 24 years, has been replaced by another senior percussion maestro, Kizhakkoottu Aniyan Marar.
Cheranellur Sankarankutty Marar is the Mela Pramani of the Thiruvambadi Devaswom. Kongad Madhu will lead the panchavadyam of the Thiruvambadi Devaswom.
After the percussion, the main attraction is the Kudamattam by the two main devaswoms. Around 40 sets of parasols each will be displayed atop caparisoned elephants by both devaswoms.
Though rain has been posing a threat for the fireworks, fans of the ‘vedikkettu’ are eagerly awaiting the pyrotechnic show which begins by 3 a.m. on Monday. The 36-hour-long festivities will conclude with the ‘upacharam cholli piriyal’ ceremony after the pakal pooram on Monday afternoon.
