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TRICHUR
INTRODUCTION
The small Kerala town of Trichur is dominated by the magnificent Vaddakunathan temple. Trichur, the cultural capital of Kerala, has a rich historical legacy. The bewitching beauty of northern Kerala with the characteristic flow of petite villages adorning the riversides begins at Trichur. However, what makes Trichur unique is its association with the Pooram festival-the flamboyant celebration with pageantry of a hundred drums, dozens of caparisoned elephants and brilliant fireworks.
HISTORY
According to legend, Trichur Pooram was the zestful venture of two goddesses. It is said that a mighty goddess called Paramekkavu Devi resided under a tree in what now is the compound of the Vaddakunathan temple. Lord Shiva's devotees decided to enlarge his small shrine into a grand temple. Therefore, they moved the goddess, who was thought to be his daughter, to a temple of her own. Her elder sister, Thiruvambady Devi, resides in another temple. These sister goddesses are the main participants of the Trichur Pooram festival.
TOURISTS ATTRACTIONS
Ages ago, the Vaddakunathan temple was surrounded by a fine teak forest called Thekkinkadu. In the recent times, a splendid architectural wonder in the form of the idiosyncratic South Indian temple gopurams have come up. This temple is made up of low, tiled roofs and profuse woodwork. There is the theatre hall, called the 'kuthambalam' within which is performed the theatrical art form 'chakiar koothu'. The Vadakkumnathan temple is famous for its murals. These depict scenes from the Mahabharata and also some beautiful paintings and carvings.
FAIRS & FESTIVALS
The unique Pooram Festival is the grandest festival of the South. Held in April/May, the festival was begun by Sakthan Thampuram, the king of the former state of Kochi. The celebration includes a variegated colorful procession and brightly decorated elephants. The spread out Thekkinkadu Maidan near to the entrance of Vaddakunathan Kshetram is the venue for this.
The two main participants, Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu temples, send their elephants to the Pooram with new and costly ornaments. The elephants are adorned with multiple jewelry, comprising of the "Kolam", a gold-covered crest for the top portion of the elephant. The "nettippattam", a large cloth with 600 gold-plated pieces, is placed on the elephant's forehead. There are "kuda", embroidered umbrellas for elephants and "alavattom", the colorful fan. Also present is "venchamaram", another type of fan and many silver bells.
Millions of people flock to this mammoth festival. At six o'clock in the morning the Thiruambady head priest comes out of the sanctum carrying a small thidambu, a symbolic image of the goddess. He places the idol on a specially bedecked elephant. The elephants are preceded by the divine panchavadyam (five musical instruments). Subsequently, similar rituals take place in the other temples. The processions terminate at the Vaddakunathan temple. Families line the routes to make offerings to the passing deities.
On the first day, the various deities arrive at the great pipal (Ficus religiosa) tree outside the Vaddakunathan temple and then disperse. The exception is the Thiruvambady party, which lines up with its 15 elephants. Their panchavadyam ebbs and a new set of musicians start to play a melam. In this symphony, the chief instrument is Kerala's fantastic drum, the chenda.
The Paramekkavu temple initiates its ritual at 12:30 p.m. They assemble their 15 elephants and do a rehearsal of the major "kudamattom", slotted for the evening. Ultimately, the Paramekkavu party reaches the compound of the Vaddakunathan temple. During the next two hours, both men and gods are treated to a musical feast-the Elajithara melam. After Elanjithara melam, Paramekkavu and Thiruvambady come out and the stage then is set for the energizing "Kudamattom", where the two have a friendly competition, each trying to outdo the other in quality and quantity.
HOW TO REACH
BY AIR - The nearest airport, at a distance of 45 km, is the Cochin International Airport. The airport of Calicut (Kozhikode) is 163 km north of Trichur.
BY RAIL - The railway station is located to the southwest of Trichur. Most of the trains of Kerala pass through this railway station and sufficient number of trains are available for different parts of India as well.
BY ROAD - The National Highway 47 connects Trichur to Kanyakumari. Buses run by the Kerala State Transport Corporation as well as private operators are available from within and outside the state.
WHERE TO STAY
We offer excellent accommodation facilities in and around Trichur.
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Tourism-of-India.com provides complete information about tourism in Trichur. Tourism-of-India.com offers various tour packages to make you visit comfortable. You can pick the one that suits you most.
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