Thrissur Pooram is not happening this year due to the virus. That is a big deal in Kerala

Thrissur Pooram festival in Kerala. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

In a normal year, at the peak of summer, the city of Thrissur in central Kerala comes alive. The otherwise unobtrusive temple town turns into a lodestar for an ardent festival fan who loves the sight of a bevy of elephants and dive into the sounds of percussion. The city gears up for a centuries-old spectacular carnival called Thrissur Pooram (Malayalam for festival).

Thrissur town, built by Shaktan Thampuran (the Maharaja of Cochin between 1751 and 1805) over a hundred acres of lush teak yard and an ancient Shiva temple, gets ready to welcome its two-months long popular annual temple festival. The town is splashed in myriad colours and decorated with a scrum of wooden ‘pandals’.

There are three big temples in the town that are inseparably linked to the design of Thrissur Pooram — Thiruvambadi, Paramekkavu and Vadakkunnathan, the Lord Shiva temple that hosts the Pooram.

Temple Town 

A walk through the Swaraj round (as the main ring road is called) at this time of the year lifts spirits. Festive preparations are everywhere as pachyderms. Footpath vendors arrive in hordes, selling everything from colour balloons to precious stones.

About 120 elephants are brought from various parts of Kerala to participate in the Pooram every year.  The ‘Kudamattom’ (exchange of colourful umbrellas atop elephants) is one of the most prominent spectacles of Pooram.

Workers dig five-feet holes on the ground at designated areas of the vast ‘Thekkinkad maidan’ (the centre of Thrissur town) and fill concrete pipes in these holes, preparing for the grand fireworks. There are huge exhibition centres in one part of the maidan, which is the biggest sales season for the local businessmen and even those vendors who come from distant places sell almost everything from needles to costly apartments.

One can hear the sound of the percussions from some corner of the town. That is a part of the rituals in one of the three major temples.

But none of this is will happen in the town this year.

Covid-19 Shadow 

Thrissur, like several other cities in India, following a nationwide lockdown, wears a deserted look. The popular Swaraj ring road is occupied by police vehicles and ambulances of health workers. The air is filled with a sense of dread. Kerala has registered 364 positive cases of the virus and two deaths. Around six active cases have been reported in Thrissur so far.

Instead of percussion music, there are frequent announcements by local cops cautioning the city dwellers against venturing out of their homes. The three major temples in the town have been shuttered.

Thrissur Pooram, which was slated for May 3 this year, has been called off, a first in 58 years. It was last called off because of the Indo-China war.

M Madhavankuti, Secretary of Thiruvambadi Dewaswam, a temple committee that organises the Pooram, is a disappointed man. “Pooram is part of our lives and we wait for this every year. But we are also conscious about the severity of the COVID-19 problem. We have decided to act accordingly. Most likely, the Pooram will be limited to most basic ceremonies. I’m not sure, even that is possible,” he said.

The temples spend around Rs 5 crore every year on preparations for the festival. This amount largely comes through donations.

The cancellation of the festival is hardly a surprise. At a time when the world is under the death grip of a pandemic, it is only logical that everything, except saving lives, turns less important. Even global events can wait. The fast-spreading virus, which has already claimed 100,000 lives, has made even the Tokyo 2020 Olympics - the biggest event on earth - an expendable.

Does a temple festival in one of the tiny southern state of India stand a chance?

Every year around April-May, lakhs of locals and foreigners throng the temple town to feel the ambience of the three-day festival. The festival is also on the calendar of hundreds of small businessmen.

There is a deep emotional connect of Keralites with Thrissur Pooram. Locals have grown up seeing Asia’s largest Chenda (drum) percussion performance over three days. Every year, days before the event, people flood the cultural capital of the state (as Thrissur is known) and leave only after the spectacle is over.

But when the state is fighting hard to contain the spread of coronavirus, it is risky to allow crowds to gather. Authorities did not have a choice but cancel the festival this year.

The story

According to popular belief, Shaktan Thampuran designed Thrissur Pooram in 1798 in the current format. The story goes like this: until then, the biggest temple festival of Kerala was ‘Arattupuzha’ Pooram. Those in Thrissur used to go to as a procession to Arattupuzha (a place about 15 kilometers away from the Thrissur town), taking along their percussion artistes and elephants to participate in the grand festival.

But the year 1798 was different. It was raining incessantly. The roads were flooded. The procession, comprising elephants and scores of men, got stuck half away and couldn’t reach the destination on the day.

The Thrissur side was hence denied permission to participate in that year’s Arattupuzha Pooram. Dejected and insulted, the Thrissur side returned to their village. They apprised Shakthan Thampuran about the events. The desam’s (region) appeal made Thampuran decide something that was unthinkable until then—have an independent festival for Thrissur Desam.

Thrissur Pooram was born. Thampuran designed the festival in the form of a healthy competition between two prominent ‘Desams’ of Thrissur—Thiruvambadi and Paramekkavu.

Since then, every year around April-May, these two ‘Desams’ make preparations to compete at Thrissur Pooram. Both sides will have separate sets of percussions (Chenda), caparisoned elephants, fireworks and unique rituals to follow.

The Third temple, Vadkkunnathan, doesn’t participate in the Pooram but presides over the competition between two sides. All the opening and concluding ceremonies of the Pooram happen at Vadakkunnathan’s premises.

Though there are hundreds of big and small festivals across the 14 districts of Kerala from the Attukal Pongala in Thiruvananthapuram to Chettikulangara Bharani festival in Alappuzha district and Theyyams of Kannur, Thrissur Pooram is considered as the most important temple festival of all, drawing the biggest crowds every year. Thrissur Pooram is also known for its secular nature. People from all walks of life and all religious backgrounds attend the grandeur.

How it happens

About two months prior to Thrissur Pooram, the Pooram exhibition (display and sale of textile and other household items) begins at Thekkinkadu Maidan, which kicks off the festival season. ‘Pooram Kodiyettam’ (flag hoisting) happens a week before.

Along with this, three ‘Pandals’ are erected in the town decorated with LED-lights. Three days before the Pooram, there will be sample vedikkettu (fireworks). Traffic restrictions slowly begin. Two days before, Aanachamayam display (display of caparisons) opens for public.

Early morning, Cherupoorams (mini poorams from neighbouring temples) begin to flow in from various parts of the city and neighbouring panchayaths to Thekkinkadu Maidan. These mini poorams start early in the morning and continue until noon.

Madathilvaravu, the procession from Thiruvambadi temple starts around 11 AM and is one of the biggest events of the day. Around the same time in the day, Paramekkavu temples begin their procession accompanied with percussions and caparisoned elephants. Elanjithara melam, a grand orchestra performed by over 200 artistes then follows in Vadakkunnathan temple premises.

In the afternoon, both sides proceed to the south side of the temple to perform Kudamattom—exchange of umbrellas atop caparisoned elephants. Over a lakh pooram fans crowd the maidan at that time.

Kudamattom is considered to be the biggest attraction of the day, except for those who await the grand fireworks show of both Thiruvambadi and Parmekkavu sides the next day early morning.

Around 3 AM, the fireworks begin. Over the years, the local administrators have exerted pressure on temple authorities to reduce the intensity of fireworks. In the end though, sentiment trumps rules.

The Pooram ends later in the day around noon with the famous ‘Upacharam Chollal’, where both sides meet at Vadakkunnathan to say goodbye with the hope to meet next year again.

“For us in Thrissur, a life without this annual event is unimaginable,” said Jayanivasan Vijayan, a percussion artist based in Thrissur. “This year, it is unfortunate that Pooram will not happen. But, we understand the situation fully and are willing to compromise,” Vijayan said.

Thrissur Pooram is beyond a typical festival for Keralites. It is an emotion and a symbol of their secular culture and hope — something to wait for every year. A place where both the rich and poor would stand shoulder-to-shoulder and enjoy the energy of festivities. This year, however, the extravaganza will be absent.