- Pooram
A pooram (malayalam:പൂരം, pronounced|puːɾam) is an annual
temple festival held after the summer harvest, mainly in central Kerala, especially inThrissur andPalakkad districts. Most pooram festivals have at least one ornately decoratedelephant being paraded in the procession taken out of the temple precincts. However, there are some, such as Aryankavu Pooram nearShoranur and Machattu Thiruvanikavu Vela nearWadakkanchery that do not use the caparisoned elephant, instead go for stilted mannequins of horses or bullocks. The most famous if all Poorams isThrissur Pooram , and it has of late become a tourist destination for foreigners as well. Other well-known pooram festivals include Arattupuzha-Peruvanam Pooram,Nenmara Vallangi Vela ,Uthralikkavu Pooram andChinakkathoor Pooram .Musical Ensembles of Pooram
* A
melam is a classical performance of different kind of musical instruments that are unique toKerala , and is something akin to thejazz . The most traditional of all "melam"s is calledPandi Melam which is generally performed outside the temple, during the festival. Another kind of "melam" is calledPanchari Melam , which is similar to Pandi Melam going by the kind of instruments, but played inside the temple and following a different rhythmic beat.*
Panchavadyam ("pancha" inSanskrit means five) is another classicalmusical ensemble performed inKerala . Here, five different kinds of instruments create a breathtaking and fastmoving percussion performance. The five instruments areMadhalam , Kombu,Edakka ,Elathalam &Timila .*
Thayambaka is a soloChenda (drum) performance, where the performer uses one stick and the other hand to play the instrument instead of the usual two sticks.Other Attractions of Pooram
* Harijan Vela or Parayar Vela, found largely in
Valluvanad region.* Tholpavakoothu, a traditional shadow puppetry show, again screened commonly in
Valluvanad .ee also
*
Thrissur Pooram
*Nemmara Vallengi Vela
*Edakkunni Uthram Vilakku
*Elephants in Kerala culture External links
* [http://www.keralatourism.org/php/travel/data/festivalcalendar.php 5 Year Festival Calendar]
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