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Thrissur Pooram Festival is the most strikingly colorful and popular festival of Kerala. The festival has got its name from the city of Thrissur or Trichur where the festival takes place and the word 'Pooram', which literally means 'a group or a meeting'. It is a belief among the people of Kerala that every year the gods and goddesses of the neighboring province meet each other for a day of celebration.


Thrissur Pooram is celebrated on the premises of the grand Vadakkunnathan Temple of Thrissur in Kerala. One of the oldest temples of Kerala, the architecture of the temple is an outstanding specimen of the Kerala temple architecture. Because of the fame of the festival, the temple is also known as the Thrissur Pooram Temple.


Sakthan Thampuran, the Raja of Kochi, introduced Thrissur Pooram during his reign 1775- 1790 AD. According to Malayalam calendar, meeting of the Gods occurs in the month of spring, i.e., Malayalam Medam that occurs between April and May. The festival is being celebrated continuously for almost two centuries now. The festival begins at 6 in the morning, continues for nearly 36 hours and concludes at 12 noon the other day.


Thrissur Pooram is celebrated at the temples of Devi and Sastha abiding the medieval Peruvanam tradition. The presiding deity of the festival is Lord Shiva at the Sri Vadakkunnathan Temple. Ten deities, namely Paramekkavu, Tiruvambadi, Kanimangalam, Karamukku, Choorakkattukara, Laloor, Ayyanthole, Neithilakkavu, Chembukkavu and Panamukkampilly from the neighboring temples pay obeisance to the presiding deity of Thrissur. The main venue of the festival is the Thekkinkadi Maidan around the Vadakkunnathan Temple.


In the evening of Pooram, two lines of 13 elephants face each other on the ground. Each elephant bears an umbrella holder, a peacock-fan carrier and a yak-tail flywhisk wielder. Percussion and wind orchestras stand in between the lines of elephants. With an increase in the volume of each orchestra, a new display of ceremonial umbrellas blossoms over the elephants and continues till sunset. The Pooram concludes with brilliant display of the fireworks in the evening, which continues till late hours of the next morning. Some of the main Pooram celebrations are at Aratupuzha, Thrissur, Uthralikavu, Cheeramkulangara, Pariyanampetta, Mannarkad, Perumanam, Aryankavu, Mangottu, Medamkulangara, Kodikal and Thirumandhamkunnu.


The festival is such a popular event in Kerala that devotees, tourists and onlookers from all parts of the Kerala, India and World come to witness Thrissur Pooram.