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Pooram pronounced is an annual
festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...
, which is celebrated in
temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
s dedicated to goddesses
Durga Durga (, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around combating evils and demonic ...
or
Kali Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...
, held especially in the old Valluvanad area, and to a lesser extent in other places, covering
Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
State's present-day
Palakkad Palakkad (), Renaming of cities in India, also known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery, is a city and a municipality in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of P ...
,
Thrissur Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...
and
Malappuram Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a municipality and town in Kerala and the headquarters of the Malappuram district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Kerala, 4th largest urban agglomeration in Kerala and ...
districts) as also
Kollam Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the List of cities and towns in Kerala, fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake ...
district, after the summer harvest. Harimattom pooram is one of the famous pooram in Ernakulam. An example of a famous pooram is Thirumandhamkunnu Pooram which has an active participation of 11 Lakh people across the country. Most pooram festivals have at least one ornately decorated
elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...
being paraded in the procession taken out of the temple precincts. However, there are some well known poorams, such as Anthimahakalankavu Vela,
Chelakkara Chelakkara is a large town in the Thrissur district of Kerala. Geography Chelakkara is located at . It has an average elevation of . Politics Chelakkara assembly constituency (SC) is part of Alathur. It is also the constituency of ex- Spea ...
, Aryankavu Pooram at shoranur
Palakkad Palakkad (), Renaming of cities in India, also known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery, is a city and a municipality in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of P ...
and Machad mamangam near
Wadakkanchery Wadakkancherry () is a major town in Thrissur, Kerala. Up until 1860, this area was part of Chelakkara Taluk. It is the headquarters of Talappilly Taluk. Wadakkanchery obtained municipality status from the government by merging with the Mund ...
that do not use the caparisoned elephant, instead go for stilted mannequins of horses or bullocks. Vela is also a festival like pooram. Thrissur Pooram is the most famous of all poorams, known for fire works. Kavassery pooram is well known for fireworks during afternoon. Some other well-known pooram festivals are Arattupuzha-Peruvanam Pooram, Chalissery Pooram is well known for the art and cultural standards, Anthimahakalankavu Vela, Nenmara Vallangi Vela, Vairankode Vela, Chinakathoor pooram, Mannarkkad Pooram, Kavassery Pooram, Pariyanampatta Pooram, Harimattom Pooram and Thirumandhamkunnu Pooram
Peruvanam-Arattupuza pooram
is celebrating its 1436th year in 2018.


Musical ensembles

A
melam The term "melam" means "ensemble," as in a "musical ensemble." In Kerala, "melam" refers to a group of Maddalam (drums) and similar percussion instruments (such as a Chenda) in a rhythmic performance. Those who play in melams are called 'Melakaa ...
is a classical performance of different kind of musical instruments that are unique to
Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
and is something akin to the
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
. The most traditional of all ''melam''s is called Pandi Melam which is generally performed outside the temple, during the festival. Another kind of ''melam'' is called
Panchari Melam Panchari Melam is a percussion ensemble, performed during Temple Festivals of Kerala, temple festivals in Kerala, India. Panchari Melam (or simply panchari), is one of the major forms of Chenda Melam (ethnic drum ensemble), and is the best-kno ...
, which is similar to Pandi Melam going by the kind of instruments, but played inside the temple and following a different rhythmic beat.
Panchavadyam Panchavadyam (Malayalam: പഞ്ചവാദ്യം), literally meaning an orchestra of five instruments, is basically a temple art form that has evolved in Kerala. Of the five instruments, four — timila, maddalam, ilathalam and idak ...
(''pancha'' in
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
means five) is another classical
musical ensemble A musical ensemble, also known as a music group, musical group, or a band is a group of people who perform Instrumental music, instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist ...
performed in
Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
. Here, five different kinds of instruments create a breathtaking and fastmoving percussion performance. The five instruments are Madhalam,
Kombu ''Konbu'' (from ) is edible kelp mostly from the family Laminariaceae and is widely eaten in East Asia. It may also be referred to as ''dasima'' () or ''haidai'' (). Kelp features in the diets of many civilizations, including Chinese and Icela ...
, Edakka, Elathalam and
Timila Timil, thimila or paani, (Malayalam:തിമില) is an hour-glass shaped percussion instrument used in Tamilnadu and Kerala in South India. It is a major percussion instrument used in sree-bali, sree-bhootha-bali and related temple rites. ...
.
Thayambaka Thayambaka or tayambaka is a type of solo chenda performance that developed in the south Indian state of Kerala, in which the main player at the centre improvises rhythmically on the beats of half-a-dozen or a few more chenda and ilathalam playe ...
is a type of solo
chenda The Chenda (, ) is a cylindrical percussion instrument originating in the state of Kerala and widely used in Tulu Nadu of Karnataka in India. In Tulu Nadu (Coastal Karnataka), it is known as ''chende''. The instrument is strongly associat ...
performance that developed in the south
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n state of
Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
, in which the main player at the centre improvises rhythmically on the beats of half-a-dozen or a few more chenda and
ilathalam Elathalam (or Ilathalam) is a musical instrument from Kerala in southern India. It is made completely of bronze and resembles a miniature pair of cymbals, played by holding one part in the left hand and banging the other cymbal against it. Althou ...
players around.


Other attractions

Interesting attractions of Pooram can be seen in the Valluvanad and
Talappilly Thalapilly is one of the Taluks in Thrissur District of Kerala state, south India. Before AD 1860 the headquarters of the taluk was in Kunnamkulam. At present the headquarters of the Taluk is Wadakanchery. Kunnamkulam municipality, the Panchayat ...
region. There is the Harijan Vela or Parayar Vela as well as the Tholpavakoothu, a traditional shadow puppetry show. Harimattom Temple is situated near Tripunithura. just 7 km from there. The temple festival is started on Malayalam month Medam star UTTRAM. The main highlight of the festival is harimattom pooram which is on the 7th day of the festival. The main attraction of this pooram is kudamattam and famous pandimellam with the presence of most of the famous 10 elephants from Kerala. One of the most important things is the Harimattom pooram and festival is conducting as per keeping the Kerala tradition, beliefs and culture.


See also

* Nenmara Vallangi Vela Palakkad * Thrissur Pooram * Kollam Pooram * Thirumandhamkunnu Pooram * Uthralikavu Pooram * Machad Mamangam * Chinakkathoor Pooram * Bhajanamadom pooram * Kavassery pooram *
Arattupuzha Pooram The oldest pooram (temple festival) in all of Kerala, the Arattupuzha Pooram is held at the Sree Sastha Temple in Thrissur for a period of seven days each year. Believers say that at this 'conclave', all Gods and Goddesses gather during the tim ...
*Peruvanam Pooram *Chinakkathoor Pooram * vairankode vela


References


External links


5 Year Festival CalendarPooram - Community Website
{{Tourism in Kerala Elephant festivals in Kerala Tourism in Kerala Hindu festivals in Kerala