Thrissur Pooram Being Celebrated
By Arnab Ghosh, Gaea News NetworkSaturday, April 24, 2010
MANGALORE, INDIA (GaeaTimes.com)- For the residents of Kerala the Thrissur Pooram festival is very special. It is going to be held at the Thekkinkadu maidan today. The religious devotees will visit the temples of deities they believe in and celebrate the auspicious day with much enthusiasm. The residents of Kerala worship Lord Shiva in his various forms and on this occasion he will be worshipped. The two temples Paramekkavu and Thiruvambady are quite important as far as this festival is concerned. At night fireworks will be held.
It has been announced that owing to the Thrissur Pooram festival some trains will stop for a duration of a minute at the Punkunnam station today. The trains include Kannur-Ernakulam-Kannur Intercity Express, Ernakulam-Guruvayur-Ernakulam Special and Thiruvananthapuram-Shoranur-Thirunvananthapuram Venad Express. A number of others trains will also stop for a minute. The festival is also called the Elephant festival in Kerala. Even though it is arranged and celebrated by the Hindus the people from other communities also participate in this festival. New types of bright and great looking umbrellas are used in this festival each year. The artisans prepare these umbrellas with great care over months. For some, it is a tradition that is as sacred as celebrating New Year.
The elephants and the bright hued umbrellas add to the grandeur of the Thrissur Pooram festival. A lot of people assemble at the temples to have a gala time on the auspicious day. As per the folklore in Kraal, the festival was started by the initiative of King Sakthan in the 18th century. He was a ruler of Kochi.
