Messi steals show at Kerala's Thrissur Pooram

The football craze of Kerala made its mark on the internationally famed festival Thrissur Pooram on Sunday as a parasol with the cut out of Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi saw the excitement of the thousands of spectators going beyond limits.

As many as 30 elephants, with 15 each on either side representing the Paramekavu and Thiruvambady devaswoms, engaged in around two hour-long display of around 50 parasols, popularly known as 'Kudamattam' (decorative umbrella/parasol display) at the Thekkinkadu ground of Vadakkunnathan temple in Thrissur.

The parasol with Messi came towards the end of the display. The enthusiasm of the spectators went beyond the limits as the Thiruvambady devaswom lifted the football legend's parasols.

Kerala's football craze had already caught international attention with even FIFA sharing a picture of huge cutouts of football legends on a river bank in the state during the last word cup.

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The presence of Kerala's famed tusker Thechikottukavu Ramachandran, which is considered to be the tallest captive elephant in the country, was another attraction of this year's pooram. Owing to health issues and a series of incidents of turning amok and claiming lives, there were restrictions on parading the tusker over the last few years.

Percussion performance by known performers right from the morning was yet another major attraction of the Thrissur pooram.

The popular fireworks during the wee hours of Monday are also highly anticipated.

Even international tourists used to come down to witness the Thrissur pooram which is considered one of the largest gatherings for a festival in the country.