Place: Thrissur, Kerala
Time: April
Significance: Temple festival

Thrissur Pooram is the most colourful of all the temple festivals of Kerala. It is celebrated in Thrissur at Vadakkunnathan temple in the month of Medam (April). Situated on a hillock right in the centre of the city, the spaciously laid out temple attracts thousands of devotees and tourists around the world during the festival.

Pooram is a magnificent spectacle with night long fireworks, colourful 'Kudamattom' (exchange of different types of parasols),  the famous 'Elanjithara Melam' and a splendid elephant procession. The best elephants from the various temples in Kerala are send to Trichur to participate in the grand eight day Pooram Festival.

The celebration on the final day commences in the morning with a procession of fifteen elephants marching from Thiruvambadi temple nearby to the Vadukunnathan temple. The main elephant of the group carries the idol of Lord Krishna. At the same time another group of 15 elephants, will start from Paramekavu Bhagavathy temple. The leader of this group will carry the idol of the goddess. This group of thirty decorated elephants stand facing each other in two rows in the Tekkinkadu maidan, the venue of the festival while drums and Nadaswarams (a flute like instrument) create a crescendo of music.

The 'melam' includes around 80 drummers and many other artists who are experts in playing various instruments. In the afternoon around 2'0 clock a crescendo of music starts from the area under an Elanchi tree called the 'Elanchithara Melam' which lasts for three hours. The artists play in a competitive spirit. The atmosphere is filled with music and even the elephants seem to enjoy the music by shaking their ears along with the rhythm of the drums. Around evening, people carrying colourfully decorated umbrellas and 'Venchamaramas' (peacock-fan) take their place on top of the elephants and then the umbrella showing competition called the 'Kudamattom' begins. They will keep on inter changing the umbrellas and the fans aesthetically in perfect rhythm to the music. This event evokes considerable enthusiasm from the thousands of spectators. After this event, the elephants are taken back and the statues of Krishna and the goddess are returned to the temple. By night, the ground is lighted up with lamps. Early next morning at around 3' 0 Clock a spectacular display of fireworks begins which lasts for almost three hours. The display of fireworks is a competition between two parties representing the two divisions of Trichur, Paramekkavu and Tiruvuvampadi vying with each other to make their displays grander than the other. The festival terminates by afternoon. 

Contact Address : 

Sree Vadakkunnathan Kshethra Kshema Samithy,
Sreemoolasthanam,
Thrissur, Kerala State.
Pin - 680 001
Phone : 91-487 - 2426040

How to get there :

Air : The nearest international airport is at Nedumbassery, Ernakulam located 60km north from Thrissur.

Rail : Thrissur is an important railhead of the southern railway and linked to most major towns inside and outside Kerala. The railway station is about 1km south-west of the town centre and just 350 meters from the temple premises. Trains to Ernakulam, 74km south, take about 1¹/₂ -2 hours; trains to Kozhikode, 118km north, take about 3hours. Train Timings

Road : There are frequent buses from Thrissur along NH47 to different destinations. The KSRTC bus stand is at the south west of the town center. There are buses to Kochi (3 hrs), Thiruvananthapuram (8 hrs), Kozhikode (31/2 hrs), Kottayam, Palakkad (11/2 hrs), Chennai (12hrs)etc. The large, private bus stand Sakthan Tampuran is south of the city center, the smaller, private Priyadarshini bus stand is north of the city. Private buses have frequent services to places close by like Guruvayur and small towns like Mallapuram and Shornur near by.