Thrissur in Kerala is famous as the “cultural capital”. It is a district situated in the central part of the state. The name is derived from “Tri-Siva-perur” which means the town with three Shiva temples namely, Vadakkumnathan, Kottapuram Siva temple and Punkunnam temple. It also means the place with the holy name of Shiva. The town is also called Vrishbadripuram and Ten Kailasam. The Pooram festival of Vadakkumnathan temple Thrissur is world famous. It is the most colorful and grand temple festival. The word 'Pooram' means 'a group or a meeting'. It is believed that every year, the gods and goddesses of the neighboring province meet each other for a day. The divine meeting is celebrated in a grand manner. All the ten deities from the nearby temples meet at the venue of the festival, i.e the Vadakkumnatrhan temple. Because of the fame of this festival, the temple is also called Thrissur Pooram temple. The festivities were introduced two centuries ago by Sakthan Thampooran or Raja Rama Varma in 1790 AD. It is celebrated in the Malayalam month of “Medam” which coincides with the English months of April-May. The festival begins at 6am on the first day and concludes at 12noon on the next day. It is celebrated in the temples of Devi and Sastha which follow the medieval Peruvanam tradition. All the ten deities converge at the main venue of the festival, i.e Thekkinkadi Maidan around the Vadakkumnathan temple. It is festival in which two rows of elephants are lined up facing each other. Each caparisoned elephant adorns gold ornaments bears an umbrella holder and a peacock fan carrier. Each elephant is ridden by three mahouts holding objects that symbolize royalty- “the Alavattom, Vencharam and Muthukuda”. The traditional music or the “Panchavadyam” is played by musicians standing in between the rows of elephants. The beats of the drums and the traditional Chenda Melam resound in the air. The festival concludes with a grand fireworks display.
