Thrissur Pooram held sans pomp, festivities due to coronavirus

Thekkinkadu ground wore a deserted look as the Vadakkunnathan Lord Shiva temple cancelled celebrations due to lockdown

Amid the COVID-19 lockdown curbs, the iconic 'Thrissur Pooram', known for the parade of richly caparisoned jumbos, performance of traditional music ensembles and a sea of cheering people, was held on Saturday in a low key manner with just a handful of people and inevitable rituals inside the Vadakkunnathan temple.

Billed as the mother of all temple festivals in Kerala, the annual pooram was normally held at the sprawling Thekkinkadu Maidan in Thrissur city.

The festival was a gathering of 'Pooram' and jumbo lovers around the globe who could be seen dancing to the rhythm of percussion instruments.

But, this year, the Thekkinkadu ground wore a deserted look as the Vadakkunnathan Lord Shiva temple cancelled the celebrations due to the nationwide lockdown.

The state government and members of the two devaswom boards, which organises the festival, had held discussions and consulted the temple priests on April15 and "unanimously decided" to cancel the Pooram.

"After considering the unusual situation of pandemic we are facing, the state government and the devaswom Boards have unanimously decided to cancel the famous Thrissur Pooram (festival) and will conduct only the necessary rituals," state minister V S Sunilkumar said.

The rituals were conducted on Saturday, inside the Vadakkunnathan temple with the participation of around five people and devotees were not allowed inside.

All other events related to the Thrissur pooram, including the exhibition, mini-poorams also stood cancelled.

Musical maestro Peruvanam Kuttan Marar, whohas been leading this majestic orchestra for the last fourdecades, told the media that pooram was an "emotion close to the hearts of all Keralites."

"The cancellation of the Pooram is a loss to all the Keralaites across the world.The pooram was our pride.

It's an emotion that remains close to our heart. Now, we all wait for the next year's pooram," he said.

The pooram was earlier cancelled during many instances, including in 1948 when Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated and then during the Chinese war.

"Earlier it was also cancelled or held with minimum rituals when there was a difference of opinion over conducting bursting the fireworks and handling of the usual exhibition," Sunilkumar said earlier.

The two-centuries-old Thrissur Pooram had its origin in 1798, through a royal edict of the then Raja Rama Varma, popularly known as Shakthan Thampuran, a powerful ruler of the erstwhile princely state of Cochin.

The edict entrusted two local temples -- Paramekkavu and Thiruvambady -- as the main sponsors of the festivities to be conducted in a competitive spirit.

Besides the main poorams by the two devaswoms, small poorams from nearby temples also participate in the festivities, which ends with the fireworks display.

However, pooram lovers and jumbo fans "celebrated" this year's pooram on social media platforms with many sharing photos and notes and their memories of the festival held in previous years.