Thrissur Pooram 2021 – Observing the Festivities with COVID-19 Restrictions
To prevent the spread of Covid-19 during Thrissur Pooram, the state government has ordered that anybody under the age of 45 who attends the festival must have a Covid negative certificate obtained via an RT-PCR examination.
Members of the pooram organising committee, journalists,
percussionists, and other festival participants are all subject to the order.
It should not apply to the public who will be watching the celebration. In the
presence of the chief secretary, a meeting agreed to hold Thrissur Pooram
without reducing the festivities.
The meeting suggested that the devaswoms vaccinate everyone
interested in the festival, including temple committee members, percussion
musicians, Cochin Devaswom Board officials, Thrissur Corporation sanitation
staff, pooram volunteers enlisted by the devaswoms, police officers, and
journalists. To participate in the festival, the others must bring their Covid
negative certificate and send a copy of it, as well as a copy of their Aadhaar
card and their phone number.
The Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (Peso)
authorised the manufacture of explosives for the Thrissur pooram and fireworks
show on Thursday. The festival, which will take place from April 17 to 24, has
been granted approval. On April 24, there will be a large firework show. On
April 21, there will be a demonstration of fireworks. Pooram fireworks,
according to the organisers, will be conducted in accordance with all
regulations.
The Historic Festival of Thrissur Pooram
Pooram is a one-of-a-kind festival celebrated in Kerala, India. Kerala is one of India's most interesting regions, having been the site of the country's first stronghold of Christianity and a region where no single kind of Hinduism reigns supreme. Both Saivite (centered on the deity Shiva) and Vaishnava (centered on the deity Vishnu) religions are strong, but worship of the Mother Goddess as a manifestation of shakti energy is widespread, and there are various temples dedicated to the nagas, or snake gods.
Near their houses, many people have holy snake groves. Pooram is an annual temple festival in Kerala that takes place after the summer harvest.
The elephants have become a symbol of the festivals, but on
a metaphysical basis, they represent an assembly of the various gods of the
thousands of temples in a major display of Hindu ecumenicity. Thrissur hosts
the biggest and most popular of all Pooram festivals, though this was not
always the case. The largest such meeting in the past was at Arattupuzha, some
14 kilometres away. However, owing to heavy rains that disrupted their journey
in the late 18th century, the members of the Arattupuzha Pooram were late for
the festival.
They were turned away from the festival. Thrissur's tribal
governor, offended, arranged a separate festival. His Highness Ramavarma Raja,
also known as Sakthan Thampuran (1751–1805), became Maharaja of Kochi in 1790,
and he went on to support the Thrissur Pooram and turn it into a mass festival.
He arranged the festival in its current form in front of Vadakkumnathan, the
area's oldest temple, with the citizens of the ten main temples as the primary
participants.
With professional artists and the use of a cadre of
elephants, the festival has developed and secularized over the years,
particularly after Indian independence. The Vadakkumnathan Temple, situated in
the heart of Thrissur, is the focal point of the Thrissur Pooram, which takes
place in the month of Medom on the local calendar (April–May on the Common Era
calendar). Each of the ten temples that officially participate sends some
elaborately painted elephants on procession from their temple to the
Vadakkumnathan temple, accompanied by drummers and musicians.
The 36-hour festival features parasol shows, theatrical
productions, concerts, and a multi-hour firework show. The friendly competition
between the temples, which are split geographically into two opposing divisions,
builds interest in the festival by competing to create the most dazzling
fireworks and the most colorful elephant decorations.
The temples try to procure the best animals available in southern India for the festival, which allows each party to show up to 15 elephants. The elephants are lavishly adorned to carry the deities that will be gathered for the festival. The festival hits its pinnacle at 2:30 a.m., when the final fireworks show and the presentation of the 30 elephants take place. In Kerala, there are a host of Pooram celebrations, but none compare to the one in Thrissur.
