According to an official release here, events of the last two days of the week-long Arattupuzha Pooram, a mass celebration of 23 temples, will be webcast live from 6 pm on March 18 to 2 pm on March 19 for the global audience.
The live webcast could be watched on www.keralatourism.org and www.youtube.com/keralatourism, the release said, adding that it was for the first time that an entire `pooram' festival is webcast live in Kerala.
Arattupuzha temple, dedicated to Lord Sree Dharma Sastha, is believed to have been performing its pooram for the last 1,400 years.
"Cultural tourism is a focus area of Kerala tourism. The culture, festivals and traditions of Kerala, if promoted in a big way, would bring more travellers to the state and the webcast is a step in the direction," Tourism Secretary V Venu said in the release.
On the eve of the finale of the festival, deities of the participating temples arrive at the Arattupuzha temple on caparisoned elephants in colourful processions. Elephant pageantry, percussion ensembles ad special rituals mark the celebrations which last till the next morning.
The deities are then taken out in a procession to the nearby river to perform the `arattu' ritual.The `arattu' and `koottiyezhunnallippu' ceremonies, having the presence of 71 caparisoned elephants, offer sheer visual extravaganza,the release said.
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