Thrissur Pooram- Greatest temple festival of Kerala

 Flags for Pooram to be hoisted today
Courtesy: Pioneer News Service | Thrissur

The flags for the Thrissur Pooram, known as the greatest temple festival of Kerala, will be hoisted on Thursday. Kodiyettu, the flag-hoisting ceremonies, will be held at Thiruvambady and Parameekavu, the two temples that participate in the Pooram festival, will be held at 11.00 am and 11.30 respectively. The pooram will be celebrated on April 16.

Tanthri Puliyannur Kunjaniyan Namboothitippad and Melsanthi Moothedathu Sukumaran Namboothiri will lead the ceremonies at the Thiruvambady temple. Kanattukara Ravunni Asari from the family of the traditional heirs of the ceremony will perform the Bhoomi Pooja at the spot where the flag-pole will be erected. People belonging to the Thara (locality) of the temple will hoist the flag after its pooja within the sanctum sanctorum.

The local people will perform the flag-hoisting at the Paramekkavu temple with the deity, who will be escorted out of the temple, witnessing the event. The flag with the lion seal, given from the temple, would be attached to the pole made of areca nut tree by Chembil Annelakanthan Asari.

Arattu of the goddess will be held at the Pushkarni (holy pond) at the Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple after she will be brought there escorted by five caparisoned elephants. The tantric rites associated with the Pooram started in the Sree Vadakkunnatha Temple on Wednesday.

Though the Pooram is held at the premises of the Vadakkunnathan temple, it does not participate in the festival. The concept is that the two goddesses from Paramekkavu and Thiruvambady are coming to visit the deity of Vadakkunnatha temple on the Pooram day. The festival will come to a close at noon, April 17.

In the meantime, preparations for the Pooram continued in the camps of the two participating teams, Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu. Sources in the Devaswoms governing the two temples said primary arrangements had all been completed. The two teams have already finalised the team of 15-elephant contingents each to be arrayed on the day of the Pooram. Teams of percussion artists have also been arranged.

However, anxieties have not yet been completely removed about the issue of using elephants for Ezhunnallippu in the context of a High Court ruling that the provisions of the elephant protections law should be implemented strictly. As per the law, using elephants for Ezhunnallippu between 11.00 am and 03.00 pm is illegal.

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