We’re sandwiched between multiple lines of 11 elephants (see above), each line has its own orchestra of Chenda drummers and Kombu players continuously (a large curved trumpet) building to a musical frenzy – each time the crowd cheers reach a deafening frenzy in accompaniment. A team of police between each line do their best to keep a buffer between the crowd and the elephants. At one stage we’re close enough to touch them.
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Invitations like this don’t come along very often.
The chance to meet other sketchers at the Thrissur Sketchgala, give workshops and experience a Pooram.
This is definitely not something Kiwis get to experience often. Invited by Urban Sketchers Thrissur, Ravi Balakrishnan's invitation casually mentioned there would be up to 100 decorated elephants in attendance. Keep in mind that New Zealand is home to exactly “0” elephants since Auckland’s zoo sent it’s last lonely elephant to an Australian zoo earlier this year, so lets say it's not something I see everyday.
This would be my first time in India, at a Pooram and with so many elephants.
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| Expect to see elephants anywhere in Thrissur |
I found the Hindu festival incredibly complex. A very, very edited and dumbed down (it's me not you) version is the Pooram is based around two ancient temples in central Thrissur, each temple has associated temples in the surrounding region and they all care for an elephant or more. The week leading to the event was spent in ceremony, preparing their goddess and their elephants for a long trek into town (or in some cases in the back of a truck).
Throughout the 3-day festival the elephants and their mahouts will take part in ceremonies and processions through the town. The final act of the event is a showdown between the two teams of elephants, orchestras and a steady stream of umbrellas and decorations in an attempt to out-do the other team in a flamboyant competition.
Joining all of these elephants and their mahouts are orchestras of drummers and horn players, around 1 million visitors, who pack the small city out, all mixed together with massive fireworks and 45C heat and humidity!
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| An elephant takes a bath while it gets scrubbed and hosed. He almost looked deflated relaxed on his side. It was so hot I dearly wanted to jump in and join him. |
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| Not only elephants need shade, this man held his umbrella over me while I sketched behind the Paramekkavu Bhagavathi temple. |
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This is the scene when Raman pushes through the doors of the south gate of the Sree Vadakkunnathan temple, signalling the Pooram is open and making the massive crowd go ballistic. I have never seen so many people in one place at the same time! (later I learn that Raman is a controversial choice as he has previously trampled 13 people to death, several at an event this year.)
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| Balloons anyone? One seller appeared as just 2 legs under a cloud of brightly coloured ballons! |
