The ten-day Vishu Maholsavam, the annual festival of Asramam Sri Krishna Swamy Temple, will conclude with the grand Kollam Pooram on Monday.
On Vishu day, thousands of devotees are expected to arrive at the temple for the annual ‘Vishukani’ darshan. The customary procession carrying the ‘thiruvabharanam’ (sacred jewellery) accompanied by caparisoned elephants and traditional musicians will reach the temple a day before Vishu. ‘Vishukani’ begins from 5 a.m. and the ‘pallivetta’ ceremony will be held at night.
Pooram festivities
The rituals prior to the Kollam Pooram will officially begin on Monday with the arrival of the ‘cheru poorams’ (miniature processions) from various temples including Erattakulangara Sri Mahavishnu Temple, Koyikkal Sree Dharma Sastha Temple, Asramam Muneeshwara Swamy Temple and Thumpara Sree Bhadra Durga Devi Temple. This will be followed by the customary elephant bath (ana neerattu) and the feeding of the elephants (anayootu) at noon. Around 25 elephants will participate in the pooram that will be held in adherence with the Kerala Captive Elephant (Management & Maintenance) Rules. Kadavoor Shivaraju will carry the ‘thidambu’ of Asramam Sri Krishna Swamy while Puthankulam Ananthapadmanbhan and Chirakkara Sreeram will carry the idols of Puthiyakavu Bhagavathy and Thamarakkulam Ganapathy respectively.
After ‘kodiyirakkam’ (lowering of flag) between 4 and 4.30 p.m. to mark the culmination of the festival, the temple deity will arrive for the ‘aaraat’ ritual. Later, the presiding deities of Thamarakkulam Sree Maha Ganapathy Temple and Puthiyakavu Bhagavathy Temple will reach the temple for ‘thirumunpil melam’. After the arattu procession, ‘panchari melam’ led by Cheranalloor Sankarankutty Marar and Thrikadavur Akhil will be held. The highlight of the pooram will be the grand kudamattam ceremony where elephants will face each other and exchange ornamental umbrellas.
Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal will formally inaugurate the pooram while industrialist and pooram chairman B. Ravi Pillai will light the ceremonial lamp. Minister for Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development J. Chinchurani, Mayor Prasanna Ernst, MPs, MLAs, District Collector, Corporation councillors and temple officials will also be present on the occasion.
