Thrissur: Thousands of fans of Kerala’s tallest elephant Thechikkottukavu Ramachandran assembled at the site of Thrissur Pooram to watch the controversial elephant perform the ‘Vilambaram’ ritual, signifying heralding of the world-famous cultural pageant.
The swelling crowds were similar in size to the ones generally associated with Kudamattam, the spectacular event that marks the climax of the festival, which has claimed a series of Guinness world records and an award by Unesco. This year’s crowd has been described as unprecedented and is attributed to the presence of Ramachandran in the context of an uncertainty about its availability that lasted several days.
The inaugural event used to be a routine affair, witnessed by a few hundred people only, until the most sought after Ramachandran started donning the ‘thidambu’ a typical insignia of Neythilakkadu Bhagawati, the deity of one of the 10 temples participating in the pooram.
The ‘vilambaram’ ritual marks the formal announcement of the festival after the Neythilakkadu deity seeks permission from the presiding deity of the Vadakkunnatha temple of Lord Shiva, around which the pooram venue is located. The participation of Ramachandran, with an impressive fan club of its own, had become uncertain as the forest department and the district administration denied permission for it to be paraded in the pooram festivities in view of certain incidents involving loss of human life.
The ban had led to a piquant situation in which the elephant owners declared a so-called ‘strike’ deciding not to lend their elephants to any religious or cultural pageant either in Thrissur or any other place. It became a most sensitive issue as a pooram show was unimaginable without the presence of elephants, particularly for Kudamattam, the grand finale.
Kudamattam is a ritualistic competition between two sets of temples in which scores of heavily ornate elephants participate for either side. The finale attracts people from all over the world, including tourists and photograph enthusiasts who come to capture the colour and spirit of the pageantry, along with tens of thousands of local pooram-lovers.
The temple administrations had even approached the Kerala High Court challenging the ban, but the court refused to intervene, advising the petitioners to approach the district administration again. This was followed by hectic parleys involving the administration, temple officials, politicians and cultural outfits.
At one stage, the issue even acquired a political colour, with parties like the BJP alleging that the whole drama was part of a plot to rob Thrissur pooram of its halo. Thrissur poorm is aptly described the ‘mother of all poorams’, which are typically annual temple festivals.
A way-out to the impasse was in sight when the government received legal opinion to the effect that permission for the banned elephant’s presence could be granted subject to certain restrictions. These included cutting down the time of its appearance to only an hour, deployment of four mahouts to supervise the animal and heavy barricading on a 10-metre radius to prevent people from getting close to the elephant, which often provokes the animal.
The final clearance was given after a team of three veterinarians conducted a medical examination of the 54-year-old elephant and found it fit. The elephant was known to suffer partial blindness in one eye and a tendency to get irritated by shouting by the crowd, which is an integral part of pooram festivities.
But in the end, when the elephant finally made its appearance and went through the rituals, everything went off smoothly and this year’s Vilambaram provided a unique experience to an unusually large congregation, thanks to Ramachandran’s name and fame. It also came as a vindication of the stand of pooram-lovers who insisted that the elephant’s participation was not negotiable.
