Thrissur Pooram

According to Hindu mythology a Pooram is a star, also called Nakshatra. It is believed that there are about 27 stars in a Hindu Panchangam. These stars or Poorams have special connection with the ancient temples of Kerala.  Each temple has special importance for each star and is celebrated with great enthusiasm and dedication. The rich and diverse culture of Kerala is enriched with many traditional beliefs and practices. Their social, cultural and religious life is very diverse and varied. There are hundreds and thousands of festivals which are celebrated at both small and large scale by people of all religion and communities. These celebrations include not only the locals but also the domestic and international tourists who come from far and wide places to witness the grand spectacle of these celebrations and be a part of some of the grandest phenomenon on this earth. Some of these festivals are celebrated at a huge scale, something that is beyond the imagination.
Thrissur Pooramis the grandest and the most important of all Poorams. It is celebrated with such magnitude that UNESCO has declared it as “the most spectacular festival event on the planet”. It is celebrated in the month of Medam, as per the Malayalam calendar which falls somewhere between mid April and mid May. Thrissur is one of the major towns of Kerala. Located at a distance of 300 kms from the capital city of Trivandrum, this town was the capital city of Cochin in the ancient days, and is more popularly known as the cultural capital of Kerala for its rich culture and traditions. The pooram that is celebrated in this town is the grandest and the biggest of all. The Thrissur Pooram is the most colourful and grandest temple festival in the whole of Kerala with phenomenal gathering of people and elephants. The grandly decorated elephant used during this festival has become the cultural symbol of Kerala in the whole of the world. Some of the objects used to decorate these elephants are the golden headdress called nettipattam, the bells and other decorative ornaments.  More than fifty elephants take part in this festival making it the grandest of all. These elephants are paraded through the center of the town and also the Vaddakkunnath temple and the spectacle is simply out of this world
This festival is around 200 years old and was started by the then ruler of Cochin Raja Rama Varma in 1798 who was known for his efficient administration. He decided to create his own temple festival in the region breaking all the traditions and thus began the celebration of Thrissur Pooram. Today it has become the grandest of all festivals in Kerala and commands the respect and participation of thousands of people. Two days before the festival, there is a grand exhibition of all the stuff used to decorate the elephants in different schools of the region. The main attraction of the program is the exchange of the umbrellas between the two groups belonging to two different temples while they are seated on the elephant