THRISIVAPERUR (THRI/SIVA/PERUR): THE CULTURAL CITY OF KERALA RISEN FROM A DENSE TEAK FOREST (AN OVERVIEW FROM PAST TO PRESENT)
Years ago, there lived a glorified king named ‘RAJA RAMA VARMA’ whose is also known by the nickname ‘SHAKTHAN THAMPURAM’ who ruled over the kingdom of Travancore. ‘THRISIVAPERUR’ gained its popularity from his time. The king was a strong devotee of Lord ‘Siva’. The royal highness decided to build a city for the remembrance of his spiritual devotion. In the meantime, a small temple in the middle of a dense teak forest area was brought to his attention. He decided to renovate the temple into a gorgeous Siva temple and also to build a beautiful city around the monument. Since Sakthan Thampuran approached from ‘Kochi’, a city farther south. Hence the temple might have gained its name ‘VADAKKUN NATHAN TEMPLE’ (vadhakku = north, nathan = lord). However I have also noted in a historic collection that the word ‘ VADAKKUNNADHAN’ is misinterpreted by times and in fact the actual name was ‘EDAVAKKUNNATHAN TEMPLE’ (edavam = bull, kunnu = raised area or small hill). Since the bull being the vehicle for Lord Siva and the position of the temple is at an elevated area in the heart of the city, the above argument could also be legitimate. The temple has four exits, one each to four different directions such as north, west, east and south. The southern exit has distinct historic importance. The offenders during the rule of ‘Sakthan Thampuran’ used to receive severe penalties. One of the convictions included throwing them out into the dense teak forest with many dangerous carnivorous animals. The belief was that the pushed out offenders would never come back alive. The temple itself has many historic stories to tell of which two of them are momentarily coming into my mind. ‘AADHI SANKARAN’ one of all times reformists of Kerala, had spent his last days of his life at ‘VADAKKUN NATHAN TEMPLE’. The temple is also very popular for its international attraction of ‘THRISSUR POORAM’. Taking one step back, one should also remember that the name ‘THRISIVAPERUR’ its self has link to this temple. The word ‘THRISIVAPERUR’ is a combination of three different words such as ‘thri’ meaning ‘respected or Lord’, ‘siva’ the name of the Lord, and ‘perur’ meaning the land or place with a name’. If you put everything in the right perspective, the meaning of ‘THRISIVAPERUR’ means’ the place with Lord Siva’s name’. The modern city whose name is much shortened from the orinial version to ‘THRISOOR’. The whole city is systematically built around the temple clearing the dense forest. Once the forest is cleared around the temple, for its remembrance, the open circular ground around the temple gained the name ‘THEEKIN KATU MAIDHANAM’.
One of the international attractions to this cultural city is its once a year festivity by the name ‘THRISOOR POORAM’. The festivity attracts thousands of foreign tourists to this city. The whole festivity has begun long ago as a challenge to demonstrate the power and ability between two counties. When time passed along, different small temples in the surrounding area united under two main temples called ‘PARAMEKKAVU’ and ‘THIRUVAMBADI’. The festivity is extraordinarily colorful with the participation of more than fifty elephants from both sides. The caparisoned elephants will be positioned face to face at the southern exit from ‘Vadakkun Nathan Temple’. Men with various musical instruments such as ‘Chenda’, ‘Maddhalam’, ‘Edakka’, ‘Trumpets’, ‘Cymbals’, and variety of ‘Flutes’, perform an extraordinarily elegant musical extravaganza standing in between the elephants. Each elephant is ridden by three brahmins (one of the highest Hindu caste) holding clutching objects symbolizing royalty: silver-handled whisks of yak hair, circular peacock feather fans and orange, green, red, purple, turquoise, black, gold or patterned silk umbrellas fringed with silver pendants. A sequential changing of this various umbrellas is famously known as ‘KUDA MATTAM’. At the center of each group, the principal elephant carries an image of the temple's deity. Swaying gently, the elephants stand still much of the time, ears flapping, while bomb-like firework bangs and the huge orchestra that plays in front of them. Known as Chenda Melam, the quintessentially Kerala music, featuring as many as a hundred loud, hard-skinned, cylindrical Chenda drums, crashing cymbals and wind instruments, mesmerizes the crowd while its structure marks the progress of the procession. The melam passes through four phases of tempo, each a double of the last, from a majestic dead slow through to a frenetic pace. The famous melam such as ‘ELANJITHARA MELAM’ and ‘PANCHAVADHYAM’ are two of the many rhythms that will be played during this occasion. After the festivity, towards midnight to early morning hours trembling fire works are also an internationally appreciated event.
Today’s Thrissur city and its vicinity is also popular for ‘KERALA SAHITHYA ACADEMY’, ‘PEECHI DAM’ and a few miles away situated ‘GUVAYOOR TEMPLE’, ‘KOODAL MANIKYAM TEMPLE’, ‘THIRUVILLA MALA SHRINE’ and ‘KERALA KALA MANDALAM’.
HARI KOCHAT