Thrissur Pooram: Date, History, Riturall, Significance and Celebration

With the assembly elections around the corner, organizers of the state’s signature temple festival, Thrissur Pooram, have started mounting pressure on the government to take a final decision on allowing the full rituals and ceremonies this time. Photo: New Indian Express

The Thrissur Pooram is an annual temple festival that is held in Thrissur in Kerala. This temple festival is held is at the Vadakkunnathan (Shiva) Temple in Thrissur every year on Pooram Day. The significance of Pooram Day is when the moon rises with the Pooram star in the Malayalam Calendar month of Medam.

Thrissur Pooram 2021 Date

Thrissur Pooram is celebrated on April 23, 2021, at the Vadakkunnathan (Shiva) Temple in Thrissur. The Kerala government has decided to limit the Thrissur Pooram celebration this year keeping in consideration the rising coronavirus cases across the state. While the public will not be allowed to participate in the Thrissur Pooram 2021, the rituals of the festival will be conducted by the temple authorities.

Thrissur Pooram History

The Thrissur Pooram was started by Rama Varma Kunhjippilla Thampuran, or Rama Varma IX, who was the Maharaja of Cochin (1790-1805). Before the Thrissur Pooram began, the largest festival in Kerala was the one-day Arattupuzha Pooram Festival held at Aarattupuzha. Temples in and around Thrissur also participated in this festival. However, in 1978, there were a lot of rains and flooding and Thrissur temple people could not reach Arattupuzha on time, so they were not allowed to participate in the festival.

Photo: Holidify

As a result, Sakthan Thampuran made the decision to unify the 10 temples situated around Vadakkunnathan Temple and organized the first-ever Thrissur Pooram festival. Temples and deities from all over Kerala were invited to Thrissur to pay obeisance to Lord Vadakkunnathan (Lord Siva), the presiding deity of the Vadakkunnathan Temple. Something really unique about the Thrissur Pooram festival is the fact that everything in this festival is made from scratch every year, according to Republic World.

Thrissur Pooram Significance

It is an important festival for the residents of Thrissur and surrounding areas. People from all over Kerala come to this festival to pray to Lord Shiva. A huge procession is organized on this day with music and prayer. Elephants decorated with golden ornaments are also present in the procession. However, this year government has put some restrictions due to rise in Covid-19 cases.

Thrissur Pooram 2021 Celebration

A meeting of Paramekkavu and Thiruvambady Devaswom officials- the two major organizers of the Pooram festival- convened by Thrissur District Collector on Tuesday agreed to organize the festival without spectators. The meeting decided to limit this year’s pooram festival to the ritual, officials said.

Although Paramekkavu Devaswom decided to scale down the pooram celebrations to be held on April 23, they will parade 15 elephants for the festival and organize the famous Ilanjithara Melam, an assembly of percussion performance artistes held under Ilanji tree at the courtyard of the Vadakkunnathan Temple.

Photo: Holidify

Thiruvambady Devswom said they will hold mere rituals as part of pooram and only one elephant will be paraded from their side, considering the super spread of Covid-19 in the district.

Last year also, the Pooram festival was held in a low-key manner amid Covid-19 lockdown curbs with just a handful of people and inevitable rituals inside the famous Vadakkunnathan temple. Thrissur Pooram is known for the parade of richly caparisoned jumbos, the performance of traditional music ensembles, fireworks and a sea of cheering people.