Elephants to the Vadakkunnathan Temple: the Pooram and the Puli Kali of Thrissur

Background

The Thrissur Pooram is an annual temple festival held at the Vadakkunnathan Temple in Thrissur. It falls on the Pooram day, the day when the moon rises with the Pooram star in the Malayalam calendar month of Medam, and the district administration calls it the largest and most famous of all poorams. Decorated elephants march through the city to the temple. Puli Kali, also known as Kaduvakali, is a body painting art form performed by trained artists on the occasion of Onam, and it is mainly practised in Thrissur district. The Kodungallur Bharani is the annual festival of the Sree Kurumba Bhagavathy Temple at Kodungalloor, held in the Malayalam month of Meenam. Buon Natale, the Christmas procession organised by the Thrissur Archdiocese in association with the Thrissur Pouravali, entered the Guinness World Records in 2014 for having the maximum number of Santas. The Indian coffee house in Thrissur was established in 1958.