Page 657 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - India

KER ALA  655

that belong to the deity – it
is customary to present an
elephant as an offering here.
The renowned performing
arts and teaching centre, the
Kerala Kala Mandalam, is
32 km (20 miles) northeast
of Thrissur. Founded in 1930
by the famous Malayali poet,
Vallathol Narayan Menon,
at Cheruthuruthy, it offers
intensive training in Kathakali,
Mohiniattam and Koodiyattam
dance forms. Instrumental and
vocal music forms are taught
The Catholic Lourdes Cathedral in Thrissur here as well. The complex
also has a large natyagriha
y Thrissur engravings recovered from the (dance hall) for performances.
forests of Thrissur.
Thrissur district. 80 km (50 miles)
N of Kochi. * 312,1200. £ @ Thrissur is often dubbed E Kerala Kala Mandalam
n Tourist Office, Govt Guest House, Kerala’s cultural capital, as the Tel (04884) 26 2305 for permission.
(0487) 232 0800. _ Thrissur Pooram town is home to two prestigious Open Mon–Fri. Closed public hols,
(Apr/May), Kamdassamkadavu state-run cultural institutions. Apr/May.
Boat Races (Aug/Sep). These are the Kerala Sangeetha
Nataka Academy (for music and
This town, built around an theatre) and the Kerala Sahitya
elevated area called The Round, Academy (for literature).
was planned during the reign The town suffered political
of Raja Rama Varma, the ruler upheavals for centuries, having
of Cochin (Kochi) in the 18th been successively ruled by the
century. In the heart of The Zamorins of Kozhikode (see p657),
Round is the multiroofed Tipu Sultan of Mysuru, and the
Vadakkunnathan Temple. rulers of Kochi. The Dutch and
This great Shiva temple was the British have also made their
built in the 9th century, and presence felt in the history of
has superb woodcarvings and this district, as is evident from the
rich decorative murals. The many impressive churches, such
splendid Pooram festival is held as the late 19th-century Lourdes
here each year, with the main Cathedral, around the town.
activities taking place outside
the temple walls (non-Hindus Environs Entrance, Shri Krishna Temple
are not permitted inside the Guruvayur, 29 km (18 miles)
shrine). Northeast of the temple west of Thrissur, has Kerala’s
is the State Museum, displaying most popular temple. Legend The Pooram Festival
a good collection of murals, has it that the 16th-century Shri A pooram (meeting) is a
woodcarvings, sculpture Krishna Temple was created by temple festival marked by the
and antique ornaments. The Guru (“Instructor of the Gods”), ceremonious congregation, at
Archaeological Museum housed and Vayu (“God of the Winds”). a particular temple, of deities
from various other temples.
in the Shakthan Thampuran The temple’s elephant sanc tuary Though a number of poorams
Palace features rare stone is within the compound are held throughout Kerala,
of an old palace nearby. It Thrissur’s Pooram is the most
houses more than 40 elephants spectacular. Held between
April and May, it celebrates
the processional arrival of two
goddesses before Shiva, after
whom the town is named.
Through a sea of devotees and
the hypnotic beat of percussion
instruments, two rows of
elephants, with the central
ones carrying the deities,
move majestically towards
each other. A firework display
ends the celebrations.
Vadakkunnathan Temple in Thrissur
For hotels and restaurants in the region see p703 and pp718–19

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