Thrissur Pooram: The elephant festival that blew our mind!
May 2014
Life in South India is punctuated by the annual festivals dedicated to village deities and are an occasion to break out of the monotony of daily routine. The size and importance of these festivals vary from small gatherings to mega spectacles like Thrissur Pooram.
The Thrissur Pooram is considered to be the Mother of all Poorams, a culture highlight that towers above all other festivals. It's unique in its pageantry, magnitude and participation. The festival is celebrated in the month of April/May and acts as an assembly of Gods and Goddesses carried out in symbolism by elephants adorned with costumes riden by men of religious importance.
The Thrissur Pooram is considered to be the Mother of all Poorams, a culture highlight that towers above all other festivals. It's unique in its pageantry, magnitude and participation. The festival is celebrated in the month of April/May and acts as an assembly of Gods and Goddesses carried out in symbolism by elephants adorned with costumes riden by men of religious importance.
On arrival to the Pooram, it was like a huge music festival. Hundreds of thousands of people were thronging the road, the field and packing into every available space. There was a large but thankfully passive police presence and our friend helped guide us to the tourist stand which was erected off the ground, near the temple. This, we later discoverd, was a very ingenious idea since it protects tourists from the thousands of people packed liked sardines on the streets.
As the main event began, the first group of 15 elephants made their debut from the temple door out into the crowds and made a long row across the field. People roared with excitement as one by one they emerged in all their colorful spendor. The elephants were dressed to the nines and each was riden by two men. Surprisingly, the elephants were incredibly passive given the amount of noise and commotion. The row then proceeded further down the street, about 100 meters away, then turned back to face the temple where a second group of 15 elephants emerged through the temple door and formed a row across the field (the photo above gives a good idea of the set up). With the animals in place, the umbrella ceremony began. A band of drummers and horn players played a frantic repetative tune to which the elephant riders executed their loosely choreographed moves to change the color of umbrella's in a show to "out do" each other. The crowds went wild everytime there was a new umbrella change and there were many varities. After a few hours, the ceremony ended and we were exhausted by the stimuli, the heat and the display we had witnessed! We pushed our way through the masses to the local bus station for our ride back to Angamaly. Though our night was over, the festival and the party continued until 3:00am in the morning when the final fireworks show took place....What an event!
As the main event began, the first group of 15 elephants made their debut from the temple door out into the crowds and made a long row across the field. People roared with excitement as one by one they emerged in all their colorful spendor. The elephants were dressed to the nines and each was riden by two men. Surprisingly, the elephants were incredibly passive given the amount of noise and commotion. The row then proceeded further down the street, about 100 meters away, then turned back to face the temple where a second group of 15 elephants emerged through the temple door and formed a row across the field (the photo above gives a good idea of the set up). With the animals in place, the umbrella ceremony began. A band of drummers and horn players played a frantic repetative tune to which the elephant riders executed their loosely choreographed moves to change the color of umbrella's in a show to "out do" each other. The crowds went wild everytime there was a new umbrella change and there were many varities. After a few hours, the ceremony ended and we were exhausted by the stimuli, the heat and the display we had witnessed! We pushed our way through the masses to the local bus station for our ride back to Angamaly. Though our night was over, the festival and the party continued until 3:00am in the morning when the final fireworks show took place....What an event!