Caparisoned elephants steal the show at Thrissur Pooram

THRISSUR: Thirty elephants vying with each other in a colourful display of umbrellas, including some that looked like a seven-storied building, Saturday enthralled lakhs of people who gathered at the Thrissur Pooram, considered the mother of all festivals in Kerala.

The two most important events in the 30-hour-long Thrissur Pooram include the parading of 15 caparisoned elephants each between the Krishna Temple at Thiruvambadi and the Devi Temple at Paramekkavu.

They vie with each other in Kudamattam, a colourful display of umbrellas that are raised by the mahout sitting atop the elephant.

Fifteen people stand besides every elephant and hand over the umbrellas to the mahout. The beauty of this is the design of the umbrellas, said veteran elephant expert Jacob Cheeran, who has seen more than 50 Poorams.

The colour and design of the umbrellas are top secret and very few people know about it till they are raised, he added