Thrissur: Kerala's popular temple festival Thrissur Pooram was held here on Sunday with thousands of people, including foreign tourists, witnessing the parade of 30 richly caparisoned pachyderms and performance by over 500 top-ranked percussionists. The spectacle of face-to-face meeting of the 30 elephants - 15 each from the Paramekkavu and Thiruvambady temples - and 'Kudamattam' (change of ornamental silk parasols by the people mounted on their top in quick succession) at the sprawling Thekkinkadu maidan provided a visual treat to the people who thronged the venue braving sweltering heat.
The festival, in its 215th edition, also gave an insight into the best of temple art and culture in 'God's Own Country' with the music ensembles of 'Panchavadyam' and 'Pandimelam' in front of the elephants by the percussionists. According to history, the Thrissur Pooram had its origin in 1798 through a royal edict of the then Raja Rama Varma who was 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 of the two temples, eight small poorams from nearby temples converged at the sanctum sanctorum of pooram famous Vadakkunnathan temple. Several foreign nationals witnessed this year's pooram festival which would come to an end in the wee hours of Monday with a four-hour long display of fireworks, marking the grand finale.
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11:11 PM, Apr 21, 2013
Thrissur: Ruing that in many states it is a selected few who decide on distribution of tickets, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that political parties should reflect the voters' views in the choice of candidates for Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Stressing that his aim was "to make Congress more accessible to all, as much as possible", he said in certain states like Uttar Pradesh "one person decides...
10:21 PM, Apr 16, 2013
Thrissur: Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi will arrive in Thrissur on Tuesday on a visit to Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) at nearby Mulamkunnathukavu. The main objective of Rahul's visit would be to study the Kerala model of decentralisation, KILA Director Dr PP Balan said. The Congress leader would hold discussions with the officials of the KILA, he added. The institute, which came into being in 1990, is supported by...
07:43 PM, Apr 15, 2013
Thrissur: A father killed his two minor girls, aged seven and two, by throwing them into a temple pond at nearby Mangattukara on Thursday, police said. The man, after throwing them in, shouted out loudly that he had killed his children and was proceeding to the temple town of Guruvayoor. He was taken into custody from Guruvayur and is being questioned, they said. Police suspect that differences of opinion with...
01:36 AM, Sep 28, 2012
New Delhi: Two people who had tested positive for swine flu died in Kerala on Sunday. Officials say 14 more cases have been reported, taking the total to 359 since January this year. The Department of Health claims it has stepped up measures to test, detect, and treat the infection. According to a release from the Directorate of Health Services, a 59-year-old man of Pallimoola in Thrissur district died in...
06:13 AM, Jul 16, 2012
Madurai: A middle-aged Mexican woman who had gone missing in Srivilliputhur in Virudhunagar district on April 9, was allegedly found murdered in Madurai on Tuesday. Her 40-year-old boyfriend was later arrested for allegedly murdering her and disposing the body in a suitcase after burning half of it, police said. The 36-year-old Ceule Denise Acosta, learning Mohiniyattam classical dance at a deemed University of arts and culture at Thrissur in Kerala,...
08:26 PM, Apr 17, 2012
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A Thrissur-bound Thiruvananthapuram superfast bus had a head-on collision with city-bound fast passenger bus from Kollam at Kadambattukonam on Sunday evening. Four women were killed and at least 40 injured in the accident. The incident occurred around 7 pm.According to witnesses, the superfast bus was over-speeding and apparently lost its control and collided with the fast passenger bus.There was a light shower in the locality on Sunday evening. This...
12:11 PM, Apr 16, 2012
Thrissur: Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has recently recommended 14 sites, including temples and palaces, from Kerala to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESO) to include in its list of World Heritage Sites. ASI's superintending Archaeologist in Thrissur, Dr M Nambirajan told PTI on Monday that the ancient Sree Vadakkunnathan (Shiva) temple, where the famous "pooram" festivals are held, was one such shrine recommended. Two-hundred and fourteenth...
07:02 PM, Mar 19, 2012
Thiruvananthapuram: Forty-one mentally challenged inmates were found living in pathetic conditions in a dubious asylum in Thrissur in Kerala. The inmates were chained to their beds, without clothes, with not even a proper roof above their heads. The inmates, who are mostly men and two to three children were rescued after a raid by the district health department and revealed their appalling conditions. They were transferred to the Thrissur Mental...
02:08 PM, Jan 03, 2012
Thrissur: A 23-year-old woman is battling for her life after she jumped from a running train to escape molestation bid by a man who entered the woman's compartment of the Ernakulam-Shornur passenger train, police said. The woman was found lying unconscious on the rail tracks with serious head injuries in between Vallathol Nagar and Shornur Railway station at 2130 hours last night, police said. Police said a man entered the...
04:17 PM, Feb 02, 2011
During India's last match against Sri Lanka, Rohit Sharma had run out Lahiru Thirimanne with an easy pick and throw from the backward point region after the batsman made a suicidal call for a single. Today, it was Rohit who was at the wrong end of a poor call and a superb pick and throw from backward point. In the 22nd over, Gautam Gambhir steered a delivery from Rangana Herath...
09:36 PM, Apr 23, 2008
The inquest must begin. This was India's seventh consecutive overseas defeat in Test cricket, their third in that period by an innings, and their worst series since the 3-0 whitewash in Australia in 1999-00. In the process, MS Dhoni became the first Indian to lead India to six innings defeat. It is the end of an era. The end was swift and merciless on day two, leaving India to smart...
11:52 AM, Apr 11, 2008
New Delhi: Middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh, who skipped the ongoing West Indies series due to a non-malignant lung tumour, would be fit to play competitive cricket in three weeks' time, his mother said on Monday. The world will see a new Yuvraj on and off the field when he returns to cricket in 2-3 weeks. Yuvraj's way of looking at life has changed. He has realised what he should do...
10:12 AM, Mar 27, 2008
Karachi: The ICC had offered Pakistan teenaged pacer Mohammad Amir a bargain under which if he had confessed to his involvement in spot-fixing he would have escaped with a maximum ban of two years. A well-informed source in the Pakistan cricket Board told PTI on Wednesday that the offer came across the table even before the anti-corruption tribunal of the ICC held its hearings earlier this year. I can confirm...
06:24 PM, Mar 01, 2008
The teacher apparently believed it would cure the child of the “nasty” habit. ...
07:29 AM, Nov 07, 2007
A mahout has developed a Belt Trap to be put around the elephants’ ankle at the sign of trouble. ...
01:32 PM, Oct 05, 2007
The Kerala government is facing the heat, or in this case, the waterlogging. ...
01:13 PM, Sep 14, 2007
It's estimated that nearly Rs 20 crore worth of sarees are sold on Onam. ...
02:48 PM, Aug 27, 2007
The government has decided to introduce training for mahouts elephants were being exploited. ...
11:52 PM, Jul 30, 2007
Ten-year-old Anu from Thrissur saved four children from drowning. ...
10:53 PM, Jul 26, 2007
