Thrissur pooram
Thrissur/ Thrissivaperoor pooram commonly called ‘the pooram of all poorams’. It is one of the mammoth pooram festival in kerala. It has been celebrated every year in Medam ( April) month, as per malayalam calendar, at Vadakkumnathan temple, situated on famousthekkinkadu maidhanam, a hillock right in the centre of city. It was believed that every year the dynastic gods and goddesses of neighbouring temple met together for a day of celebration. It is a 36 hours continuous pooram attracting a huge mass of people from different places including international tourists. The two dewasoms – Thiruvampadi and Paramekkavu are the two temples are the major temples to make the festival a remarkable one.
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The pooram starts at the time of Kanimangalam sasthavu ezhunnellippu in the early morning and followed by the ezhunnellippu of other six temples. One of the major event in Thrissur pooram is “Madathil varavu”- is a panchavadhyam melam, participating more than 200 artists, consists of Thimila, Madhalam, Trumpet, Cymbal and Edakka (Different types of instruments). At 2’ O clock, inside the vadakkumnathan temple starts the famous Ilanjithara melam – a type of melam consists of drum, trumpets, pipe and cymbal.
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Just two days before pooram, there is a huge exhibition – Ana chamaya pradharshanam (exhibition of elephant decorations), of both temple at various schools.
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The pooram has a good collection of elephants (more than 50) decorated with nettipattam (decorative golden headdress), strikingly crafted Kolam, decorative bells, ornaments and the umbrellas, venchamaram, and alavattam are awesome and it enrich the beauty of elephants and pooram.
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At the end of the pooram, after the Ilanjithara melam, both Paramekkavu and Thiruvambadi groups enter the temple through the western gate and come out through the southern gate and array themselves, face to face in distant places. The two groups in the presence of melam, exchange colourful and crafted umbrellas competitively at the top of the elephants – called Kudamattom, which is eye catching attraction of the pooram.
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The pooram concluded with a spectacular fire works display, which is held in next day early morning after the pooram. The two temples competitively crack many innovative and charming fire works, which make spectators going into ruptures.
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The another notable feature of the pooram is its secular nature. All other communities actively participate and make their prominent role in each and every part of the festival. Most of the pandal works are crafted by muslim community. The materials for the umbrellas for ‘Kudamattom’ are offered by the churches and their members. It is a good sign of secularism which is disintegrating nowadays.
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This pooram festival differs from other national festivals like Kumbha Mela of Uttar Pradesh, the Vijayadashami pageantry of Mysor or the Rath Yatra of Orissa. This pooram upholding communal harmony and all people from different religion gives hand to hand to the success of pooram.
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History of Pooram:-
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Raja Ravi Varma was born on 29th April 1848, in Kilimanoor, a small town of Kerala. He is known for his amazing paintings, which revolve mainly around the great epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana. Raja Ravi Varma is one of the few painters who have managed to accomplish a beautiful unison of the Indian traditions with the techniques of European academic art. He left for the holy abode on 2nd October 1906, leaving behind his legacy of amazing paintings. Raja Ravi Verma's paintings of beautiful sari clad women have also received recognition in the west. As we move on further, we will come across more information related to Raja Ravi Varma's biography and life history:
Life
Raja Ravi Varma was born to Umamba Thampuratti and Neelakandan Bhattathiripad in the royal palace of Kilimanoor. The inborn talent of the painter started showing at a very tender age. Recognizing the innate aptitude of their child, his parents sent him to study under the patronage of Ayilyam Thirunal Maharaja of Travancore, when he was only 14 years old. He received tutelage, first, from the palace painter Rama Swamy Naidu and then, from Theodor Jenson, a British painter.
Raja Ravi Varma got married to Rani Bhageerathi Bayi (Kochu Panki Amma) of Mavelikara Royal House. He spent the later years of his life in Mysore, Baroda and a number of other cities in the country. This exposure helped him in broadening his outlook. At the same time, he was able to expand as well as sharpen his skills and evolve into a mature painter.
Professional Aspects
Raja Ravi Varma received systematic training, first in the traditional art of Thanjavoor and then, in the European art. He is credited with providing the critical link between Thanjavoor School and Western academic realism. His paintings can be classified into the following three categories:
