The colourful Kollam Pooram which marks the grand finale of the annual 10-day festival of the Asramam Sree Krishnaswamy temple here was witnessed by thousands of enthusiast at the Asramam maidan on Thursday evening.
The events of the day leading to the Pooram began with the Pooram Ezhunallathu ritual at 9 a.m. from 13 temples in the city. This ritual is the mini Pooram procession bringing caparisoned tuskers to the Asramam temple.
By 11 a.m., the tuskers were given a shower bath from taps erected for the purpose. The bath is a ritual before the ‘Aanayootu’ programme where the tuskers are treated to a grand meal comprising jumbo jaggery rice rolls, sugarcane, and an array of fruits.
The tuskers, 43 of them, partook of the feast standing in a circle around the sacred Peepal tree in the courtyard of the Asramam temple. To prevent untoward elephant-related incidents, 30 tuskers were selected for participating in the Pooram and Kudamattam through a screening test by personnel from the elephant squad of the district Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The screening was done to ensure that none of the tuskers were in musth or suffered from health problems. The elephant parade from the Sree Krishnaswamy temple precincts to the maidan began by 5 p.m.
The Kudamattam was between two teams of 15 tuskers each; one from the Thamarakulam Sree Mahaganapathy temple and the other from the Puthiyakavu Sree Bhagawathy temple. The Kudamattam was inaugurated by N.K. Premachandran, MP. Mayor Honey Benjamin and A.A. Azeez, MLA, spoke. A display of fireworks from 7 p.m. marked the conclusion of the event.
