About Thrissur Pooram
Thrissur Pooram is the great temple festival of Thrissur in central Kerala, held at the Vadakkunnathan temple on the day of the Pooram star in the Malayalam month of Medam. In 2027 it falls on Saturday, 17 April 2027. Two temple groups, Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu, compete through about 36 hours of elephant processions, percussion, the umbrella exchange called kudamattam and a night of fireworks.
Kerala has hundreds of poorams, temple festivals where neighbouring deities come out on elephants. Thrissur's is the one people travel for. Ten temples send their goddesses and gods into the city to pay respects to Vadakkunnathan, the Shiva of the old temple on the hill at the centre of Thrissur. The festival is split between two sides, and the competition between them is the point.
How the Pooram began
As the story is told in Thrissur, the temples of the area used to go to the Arattupuzha Pooram, then the biggest temple festival in Kerala. One year in the 1790s heavy rain made them late, and they were turned away. Sakthan Thampuran, the Raja of Cochin who ruled from 1790 to 1805, answered by starting a pooram of their own at Vadakkunnathan. Wikipedia gives the first one as May 1796. Other local accounts give 1798.
He also divided the temples into two groups, and that split still runs the festival.
| Side | Lead temple | Other temples in the group |
|---|---|---|
| Thiruvambady (western) | Thiruvambady Sri Krishna temple | Kanimangalam Sastha, Laloor Bhagavathy, Ayyanthole Karthyayani, Neythalakkavu Bhagavathy |
| Paramekkavu (eastern) | Paramekkavu Bhagavathy temple | Chembukkavu Bhagavathy, Panamukkumpally Sastha, Choorakkottukavu Bhagavathy, Pookattikkara-Karamukku Bhagavathy |
Each side is run by its own devaswom, or temple board, and each has its own fireworks crew and melam team. People in Thrissur often grow up supporting one side, much as people elsewhere follow a football club. Everything on display is made new each year, from the umbrellas to the gold-plated nettipattam headpieces on the elephants.
The days and the 36 hours
The festival opens with flag hoisting at the participating temples seven days before Pooram. The main event runs about a day and a half without a break.
- Seven days before · KodiyettamFlags go up
All the participating temples hoist their festival flags.
- Fourth day after the flags · Sample vedikettuA trial of the fireworks
Both sides fire an hour-long sample at Swaraj Round, the ring road around the temple ground.
- In the days before · Chamayam displayThe new decorations
Each side shows off its nettipattams, umbrellas, venchamarams (white whisks) and aalavattams (peacock-feather fans).
- Day before · Pooram vilambaramThe gate is opened
An elephant carrying the Neythalakkavu goddess pushes open the south gate of Vadakkunnathan.
- Pooram morningThe deities arrive
Kanimangalam Sastha enters first. The others follow through the morning.
- Pooram, late morningMadathil varavu
Thiruvambady's panchavadyam, a five-instrument temple ensemble, sets out from the Brahmaswam Madham.
- Pooram afternoonIlanjithara melam
Paramekkavu's pandi melam plays under the ilanji tree inside the temple for about four hours.
- Pooram eveningKudamattam
Fifteen elephants on each side face each other at the south gate and swap umbrellas.
- Pooram nightNight processions and fireworks
The processions return, and the main fireworks go up in the small hours.
- Next day · Pakal PooramThe farewell
Upacharam cholli piriyal: the two goddesses take leave of each other, and the deities go home.
The melam under the ilanji tree
For many Thrissur people the music matters more than the fireworks. The Ilanjithara melam is named after the ilanji, or bullet-wood tree, in the Vadakkunnathan courtyard. It is a pandi melam played by the Paramekkavu side. On paper the troupe is 222 strong: 100 chendas (the cylindrical drum), 75 elathalams (cymbals), 21 kombus (curved horns) and 21 kuzhals (short pipes). In practice more than 250 artists usually turn up. It builds slowly through fixed rhythm cycles, and it runs for about four hours without a break.
The leader is called the melam pramani. Peruvanam Kuttan Marar led it for many years. In 2023 Paramekkavu brought in Kizhakkoottu Aniyan Marar, one of the senior chenda players in Kerala.
Kudamattam and the fireworks
The kudamattam is what most people picture. Thirty elephants stand in two lines facing each other at the south gopuram, 15 from each side. The men seated on the elephants raise ornamental umbrellas, then swap them for new designs, several in quick succession. The crowd judges which side did it better.
The main fireworks, the vedikettu, follow in the early hours, with each side firing its own set. The day after, Pakal Pooram ends with a daytime display.
The fireworks have a hard history. The 2016 explosion at the Puttingal temple in Kollam, at another festival, led to stricter rules from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) on how firework stores are run. In April 2026 a blast at a fireworks unit at Mundathikode near Thrissur killed 14 people, according to Kerala Kaumudi. The government and the temple boards then dropped the fireworks for that year's Pooram and cut kudamattam back to a few umbrellas. When you write to someone from Thrissur, it is fair to remember that the fireworks come with real risk for the people who make them.
Thrissur's Pooram falls in the same Malayalam month as Vishu, the Kerala new year on 1 Medam. Kerala's other famous crowd festival, Attukal Pongala, is a very different event: women cooking an offering in Thiruvananthapuram, in February or March.
Pooram ashamsakal. Hope you got a spot near the south gate for kudamattam, and that your side's umbrellas won the night.
Wishing you a happy Pooram, Amma and Achan. Save me some sleep after the fireworks. I will be home for the next one.
Another Pooram away from home. Wishing you a happy Pooram anyway. I will send you every melam video I can take.
Happy Thrissur Pooram. Hope you and your family enjoy the melam and get some rest after the long night.
Happy Pooram. Four hours of the Ilanjithara melam, and your hands will still be keeping time next week.
Thrissur Pooram ashamsakal. Vadakkunnathan anugrahikkatte. (Thrissur Pooram greetings. May Vadakkunnathan bless you.)
- Pooram
- A temple festival held on the Pooram star; also the name of the star itself
- Devaswom
- The board that runs a temple or a group of temples
- Melam
- A temple percussion ensemble led by chendas
- Panchavadyam
- A five-instrument temple ensemble: timila, maddalam, ilathalam, idakka and kombu
- Kudamattam
- The exchange of umbrellas between the two sides on elephant-back
- Nettipattam
- The gold-plated ornament on an elephant's forehead
- Vedikettu
- Fireworks
- Ashamsakal
- Greetings, in Malayalam
How to wish someone on Thrissur Pooram
Pooram is loud, crowded and proud, and Thrissur people treat it as their own. A good wish names a piece of it: the melam under the ilanji tree, the umbrellas going up, staying up all night for the fireworks, or the side the person supports. For someone far from Thrissur, missing Pooram is a real ache, so say you will send videos or save them a spot next year. "Pooram ashamsakal" is the plain Malayalam greeting.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Malayalam.
When is Thrissur Pooram in each year?
Thrissur Pooram is set by the Malayalam solar (Kollam era) calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 9 days earlier than in 2026.
- 2026
- 2027may vary by location
- 2028may vary by location
Frequently asked questions
When is Thrissur Pooram in 2027?
Thrissur Pooram 2027 falls on Saturday, 17 April 2027. The exact date can vary by location and local calendar, so confirm with your community.
Who started Thrissur Pooram?
Tradition credits Sakthan Thampuran, Raja of Cochin from 1790 to 1805. As the story goes, temples of the Thrissur area were turned away from the Arattupuzha Pooram after arriving late in heavy rain, and he started a festival of their own at the Vadakkunnathan temple, most often dated to 1796, though some accounts say 1798.
What is kudamattam at Thrissur Pooram?
Kudamattam is the exchange of umbrellas between the Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu sides on the evening of Pooram. Fifteen elephants from each side face each other at the south gate of the Vadakkunnathan temple, and the men on their backs raise and swap one set of ornamental umbrellas after another while the crowd judges which side did it better.
Why are there two groups at Thrissur Pooram?
Sakthan Thampuran divided the participating temples into two sides, the western group led by Thiruvambady and the eastern group led by Paramekkavu. Each has its own temple board, elephants, percussion team and fireworks crew, and the friendly rivalry between them shapes every part of the festival.
What is the Ilanjithara melam?
The Ilanjithara melam is a pandi melam, a large temple percussion performance, played by the Paramekkavu side under the ilanji or bullet-wood tree inside the Vadakkunnathan temple on Pooram afternoon. It runs for about four hours with more than 250 artists on chendas, cymbals, horns and pipes.
Why does the Thrissur Pooram date change every year?
Thrissur Pooram is held on the Pooram star in the Malayalam month of Medam, the day the moon rises with that star, so it moves between late April and early May. Almanacs and the temple boards can differ by a day: in 2026 Drik Panchang listed 27 April while the Pooram was held on 26 April, so the devaswoms' announcement is the date to trust.
Were there fireworks at Thrissur Pooram in 2026?
No. After a blast at a fireworks unit at Mundathikode near Thrissur killed 14 people in April 2026, the government and the temple boards dropped the fireworks for that year's Pooram and scaled the kudamattam down to a few umbrellas, while keeping the elephants and the melam.
Last verified by the Kehdoo team on .