Cherpu
Encyclopedia
Cherpu is a small village in Thrissur
district of Kerala
state in south India. It is 12 kilometres south of Thrissur town and is on the Thriprayar road. A green and beautiful village, it is dotted by a number of temples and has quite a few rivers flowing by its vicinity.
The village occupies a prominent place in the Kerala's cultural map as Cherpu is one of the main venues of the state's classical percussion ensembles like chenda
melam
and panchavadyam
, staged as they are during temple festivals called pooram
. Naturally, Cherpu is the birthplace of many leading (as well as lesser known) practitioners of ethnic Kerala instruments like chenda, ilathalam, kombu
, kuzhal
, timila
, maddalam and edakka.
Cherpu has two major poorams—Peruvanam Pooram and Arattupuzha Pooram. Peruvanam, otherwise traditionally known as one of the leading Namboodiri villages of Kerala, has today many of its people employed in the manufacture of furniture and gold ornaments. Legend has it that Peruvanam village was one of the settlements created by sage Parashuram, the mythical creator of Kerala.
The name Cherpu means cherunnidam (joining place) in Malayalam. Cherpu was a central place for Mahatma Gandhi
's village renaissance. It was known as "Vardha" at the time of the Kochi kingdom
.
As for its temples, Cherpu has the grand-structured Peruvanam temple besides the ones called Arattupuzha
, Urakam and Thiruvullakkavu. Thiruvullakkavu temple is famous for initiating children to the world of letters on Vidyarambham
, an auspicious day in Hindu tradition.
For long, Cherpu had paddy fields that spread as far as Triprayar
. The west and east sides of Cherpu were marked by rocks. Cherpu is located in between this rock- and water-covered area. Hence the name Cherpu or cherunnidam (joining place).
{| class="wikitable"
! Temple Name
! Prathishta (God name)
! Festivals
|-
| Mithranandapuram
| Vamana
moorthy
| Othukottu (Chanting Yajur veda by Namboodiri Brahmins)
|-
| Thiruvullakkavu
| Sasthavu (Ayyappan
)
| Vidyarambham
, Vishu pooram
|-
| Peruvanam
| Siva
| Peruvanam pooram , Sivarathri
|-
| Arattupuzha
| Sasthavu (Ayyappan
)
| Peruvanam pooram
|-
| Thayamkulangara
| Subramanian
| Thayamkulangara pooyam
|-
| Urakam
| AmmathiruvadiBhagavathy
| Vidyarambham, Peruvanam pooram karthika
|-
| Pallisery
| Bagavathy
| Karthika Vela
|-
| Mekkavu
| Bhadra kali
| Bharani
|-
| Cherpu Temple
| Bhagavathy
| Peruvanam pooram, Arattupuzha pooram
|-
| Kodalur
| Krishna
| Sreekrishna jayanthi
|-
| Hidumban Kovil
| Hidumban
| Pooyam
|-
| Bhuvanewari Temple
| Bhagavati
| Family temple
|-
| Ramapurm
| Vishnu & Hanuman
|-
| Changarayil
| Narasimhamoorthy
|-
SSLC (Secondary school leaving certificate) exams.
|-
! Institution
! Medium of instruction
! Syllabus
|-
| Gurukulam public school, Veninnissery
| English
| CBSE Affiliated to Delhi
|-
| St. Thomas H.S Vallachira
| Malayalam
| Kerala State
|-
| Govt vocational higher secondary school
| Malayalam & English
| Kerala state
|-
| CNN Boys higher secondary school
| English language|English and Malayalam
| Kerala state
|-
| CNN Girls higher secondary school
| English and Malayalam
| Kerala state
|-
| Lourde matha high school
| English
| Kerala state
|-
| Santa Maria Academy
| English
| CBSE
|-
| St. Xaviers Chevvor
| Malayalam
| Kerala state
|-
| Junior Basic School (J B School), Cherpu West
| Malayalam
| Kerala state
|}
is known as the district for Pooram
s. Most of the people who live in Thrissur
are fond of elephants. Cherpu can also offer a set of elephants. People in Kerala name the elephants and they use them for festivals.
This elephant is 9 feet 5 inches high. Its agreeable behaviour makes people more attracted to it. This elephant belongs to Bastian Timbers Perumpillissery Cherpu. Thrissur pooram 2007 will be the 25th chance to this elephant. It is noted for the fact that it has no hairs on its tail.
This elephant has the 4th rank of all the elephants in Kerala. It has a long tail whose hairs touch the ground. Elephant lovers in Kerala like it because of its wide ears.
This elephant is noted for its humble character. The easy way to identify this elephant is by the square-shaped hole on its ears. It belongs to Saj Timbers perumpillissery. It is mainly used for timber purposes rather than participating in festivals.
this elephant is not living now.
Not living now
Kerala
) Anakalari (place for teaching elephants). It was born in Kerala
itself. The major factor that keeps the image of this elephant in the minds of elephant lovers is its wide ears. Therefore it is known as the elephant which has wide ears.
This elephant is owned by Malayalam film super star Mr.Jayaram and he has shared the ownership of the elephant with Shri. V.Gopakumar, Thiruvanikkavu temple. This elephant shows a humble character. He has played major roles in several Malayalam and Tamil movies. He has acted in 33 movies sofar and acting in Rapakal with Super Star Mammooty and with actress Nayan Thara is known for his talent and humble behavior. Thiruvanikkavu Jayaram Kannan is also been awarded "Gajarajapattam" by Kodannoor DharmaSastha Kshetram. The function was inaugurated and Gajarajapattam submitted by Honble. Minister for Home and Tourism Mr. Kodiyeri Bala Krishnan in presence of Shri K. B. Ganesh Kumar MLA, Mr. V. S SunilKumar MLA, Mr. Sathyan Anthikad, Mr. T.G.Ravi, Mr. Babu Namboodhiri, Mr. Sreeraman, Mr. Madambu Kunjhukuttan, Mr. Sreekumar Arookutty along with Mr. Jayaram
, Parvathy
, son Kalidasan, daughter Malavika and Shri. V.Gopakumar.
Thiruvanikkavu Devi Krishnan
This elephant is 28 year old and with 10 ft height. Devi krishnan is known for its height at this young age and its humble behavior. He is a part of major festivals in Kerala. Now this elephant is belongs to Shri. V. Gopakumar.
(sanctum sanctorum), each presided by a deity of Lord Shiva
. It is believed that Lord siva did tapas (penance) on a certain tree and that changed into the present sreekovil.
Peruvanam pooram began a long time ago. Legend has it that it started in the form of an Utsavam (a bit different in rituals from Pooram and extending to 28 days) which went on for 500 years. After that, it was stopped for a period of time. Later it was restarted in the form of two poorams Peruvanam and Arattupuzha. The new version has been in existence now for 1425 years. It is held in the Malayalam month of Meenam (usually, April). There will be an Ezhunnallippu (Malayalam word which means taking out a temple deity atop a caparisoned elephant along with many jumbos—here totalling seven—to the accompaniment of traditional percussion ensembles like Panchari melam
or Pandi melam
. For the Peruvanam pooram, the first ezhunnallippu starts in the evening. More such processions follow, and the festival ends in the morning. The pooram has its highlight in the form of the four-hour Panchari melam starting past midnight and followed by fireworks.
Arattupuzha Pooram is the oldest and arguably the most spectacular of the pooram festivals of Kerala. It is believed that on this day 101 gods and goddesses of the neighbouring villages visited Sastha (Ayyappa), the presiding deity of the Arattupuzha temple. Nowadays around 70 elephants take part in the pooram procession on the sixth day of the seven-day festival. Pachari melam, Pandi melam, Panchavadyam add to the festive tempo. The arattu (holy bath of the idol of the deity) ritual is performed with great pomp and gaiety in the Arattupuzha river on the following day.
The final pooram is conducted—these days with 61 caparisoned elephants—bearing bright coloured parasols, presenting an amazing spectacle. The temple ensembles lend the event a touch of majesty. The elephant carries the images of the deities of 41 neighbouring temples to this village. Arattupuzha temple is open 05:00 - 09:30 am & 05:00 - 07:00 pm. The festival concludes with the arattu (holy bath of the idol of the deity).
. The main festival in this temple is pooyam. This is celebrated in January–February every year. People celebrate pooyam with kavadiyattom.
Cherpu is famous for making elephant statues using wood. The person credited with this art is not a full-time sculptor, nor is he an artisan. But he has been associated with the making and sale of elephant carvings for more than half a century, so much so that the septuagenarian P. Krishnankutty Menon is fondly called "Aana Menon" (Elephant Menon
) by the locals in Cherpu, Thrissur. A person can identify elephants made from Cherpu easily by looking at the nail. The nail will be painted in white color neatly. An interesting aspect of this is that the elephants are made with a single piece of wood.
Thrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
district of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
state in south India. It is 12 kilometres south of Thrissur town and is on the Thriprayar road. A green and beautiful village, it is dotted by a number of temples and has quite a few rivers flowing by its vicinity.
The village occupies a prominent place in the Kerala's cultural map as Cherpu is one of the main venues of the state's classical percussion ensembles like chenda
Chenda
The Chenda is a cylindrical percussion instrument used widely in the state of Kerala, and Tulu Nadu of Karnataka State in India. In Tulu Nadu it is known as Chande....
melam
Melam
Melam is the common name for percussion instruments that are unique to Tamilnadu, Kerala and parts of South India. The most traditional of all melams is the Pandi Melam, which is generally performed outside the temple. Another melam called the Panchari Melam, which is similar to Pandi Melam, but...
and panchavadyam
Panchavadyam
Panchavadyam, literally meaning an orchestra of five instruments, is basically a temple art form that has evolved in Kerala. Of the five instruments, four -- timila, maddalam, ilathalam and idakka -- belong to the percussion category, while the fifth one, kombu, is a wind instrument.Much like any...
, staged as they are during temple festivals called pooram
Pooram
Pooram is an annual temple festival held in central Kerala after the summer harvest. Most pooram festivals have at least one ornately decorated elephant being paraded in the procession taken out of the temple precincts...
. Naturally, Cherpu is the birthplace of many leading (as well as lesser known) practitioners of ethnic Kerala instruments like chenda, ilathalam, kombu
Kombu
Kombu or konbu , also called dashima or haidai , is edible kelp from the family Laminariaceae widely eaten in East Asia....
, kuzhal
Kuzhal
The kuzhal is a traditional double reed wind instrument used in the south Indian state of Kerala. It is similar in construction to a nagaswaram or a large shehnai, and has a very shrill and penetrating tone....
, timila
Timila
Timila is an hour-glass shaped percussion instrument used in Kerala, South India. It is made of polished jackwood, and the drumheads made of calfskin are held together by leather braces which are also twined round the waist of the drum...
, maddalam and edakka.
Cherpu has two major poorams—Peruvanam Pooram and Arattupuzha Pooram. Peruvanam, otherwise traditionally known as one of the leading Namboodiri villages of Kerala, has today many of its people employed in the manufacture of furniture and gold ornaments. Legend has it that Peruvanam village was one of the settlements created by sage Parashuram, the mythical creator of Kerala.
The name Cherpu means cherunnidam (joining place) in Malayalam. Cherpu was a central place for Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
's village renaissance. It was known as "Vardha" at the time of the Kochi kingdom
Kingdom of Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin was a late medieval Hindu kingdom and later Princely State on the Malabar Coast, South India...
.
As for its temples, Cherpu has the grand-structured Peruvanam temple besides the ones called Arattupuzha
Arattupuzha
Arattupuzha is a village located in Thrissur district of Kerala in southern India, and is home to the annual Arattupuzha Pooram that stages the grand spectacle of scores of caparisoned elephants lined up in a row to the accompaniment of ethnic percussion concerts.- History :Located on the banks of...
, Urakam and Thiruvullakkavu. Thiruvullakkavu temple is famous for initiating children to the world of letters on Vidyarambham
Vidyarambham
Vidyarambham is a Hindu tradition where children between two and three years old are formally initiated into the characters of the syllabary....
, an auspicious day in Hindu tradition.
For long, Cherpu had paddy fields that spread as far as Triprayar
Triprayar
Thriprayar is a place in Thrissur District in the state of Kerala, India, located in the middle of Guruvayur - Kodungallur - Ernakulam Highway , bears a magnificent temple to Sri Rama which is associated with many interesting legends.-History:...
. The west and east sides of Cherpu were marked by rocks. Cherpu is located in between this rock- and water-covered area. Hence the name Cherpu or cherunnidam (joining place).
Mosques in Cherpu
Chepu Cheruchenam Juma Masjid is the oldest Mosque in the chepu village. it was established in 1863.Temples in Cherpu
These are the famous temples in Cherpu:It Includes,Mithranandapuram Sree Vamanamoorthy Temple (well known for Othukottu,Bhoomi Pooja ),Thiruvallakkavu,etc. The Tables Containing information about Temples and Institutions are placed after religion and educational sections respectively.{| class="wikitable"
! Temple Name
! Prathishta (God name)
! Festivals
|-
| Mithranandapuram
| Vamana
Vamana
Vamana is described in the Puranic texts of Hinduism as the Fifth Avatar of Vishnu, and the first incarnation of the Second Age, or the Treta yuga. Also he is the first Avatar of Vishnu which appears with a completely human form, though it was that of a dwarf brahmin. He is also sometimes known as...
moorthy
| Othukottu (Chanting Yajur veda by Namboodiri Brahmins)
|-
| Thiruvullakkavu
| Sasthavu (Ayyappan
Ayyappan
Ayyappan is a Hindu deity worshiped in a number of shrines across India. Ayyappan is believed to be an incarnation of Dharma Sastha, who is the son of Shiva and Vishnu . The name "Ayyappan" is used as a respectful form of address in the Malayalam language, spoken in the Indian state of Kerala...
)
| Vidyarambham
Vidyarambham
Vidyarambham is a Hindu tradition where children between two and three years old are formally initiated into the characters of the syllabary....
, Vishu pooram
|-
| Peruvanam
| Siva
| Peruvanam pooram , Sivarathri
|-
| Arattupuzha
| Sasthavu (Ayyappan
Ayyappan
Ayyappan is a Hindu deity worshiped in a number of shrines across India. Ayyappan is believed to be an incarnation of Dharma Sastha, who is the son of Shiva and Vishnu . The name "Ayyappan" is used as a respectful form of address in the Malayalam language, spoken in the Indian state of Kerala...
)
| Peruvanam pooram
|-
| Thayamkulangara
| Subramanian
| Thayamkulangara pooyam
|-
| Urakam
| AmmathiruvadiBhagavathy
| Vidyarambham, Peruvanam pooram karthika
|-
| Pallisery
| Bagavathy
| Karthika Vela
|-
| Mekkavu
| Bhadra kali
| Bharani
|-
| Cherpu Temple
| Bhagavathy
| Peruvanam pooram, Arattupuzha pooram
|-
| Kodalur
| Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
| Sreekrishna jayanthi
|-
| Hidumban Kovil
| Hidumban
| Pooyam
|-
| Bhuvanewari Temple
| Bhagavati
| Family temple
|-
| Ramapurm
| Vishnu & Hanuman
|-
| Changarayil
| Narasimhamoorthy
|-
Educational institutions
Cherpu is noted for education. Its schools generally achieve 100% results for KeralaKerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
SSLC (Secondary school leaving certificate) exams.
Temples & Schools
{| class="wikitable"|-
! Institution
! Medium of instruction
! Syllabus
|-
| Gurukulam public school, Veninnissery
| English
| CBSE Affiliated to Delhi
|-
| St. Thomas H.S Vallachira
| Malayalam
| Kerala State
|-
| Govt vocational higher secondary school
| Malayalam & English
| Kerala state
|-
| CNN Boys higher secondary school
| English language|English and Malayalam
| Kerala state
|-
| CNN Girls higher secondary school
| English and Malayalam
| Kerala state
|-
| Lourde matha high school
| English
| Kerala state
|-
| Santa Maria Academy
| English
| CBSE
|-
| St. Xaviers Chevvor
| Malayalam
| Kerala state
|-
| Junior Basic School (J B School), Cherpu West
| Malayalam
| Kerala state
|}
Madrassa
Swirathu Saviyyi Madrassa is one of the Islamic Institutions cherpu,offering Islamic studies. SS Madrassa was established in the year of 1956.Along with Madrassa,an education center is also running for Muslim and Non Musilm students in the cherpu villagePrivate tuition centers
- Saraswathy college (Plus 1,Degree,PG classes)
- Mother Computer Academy (Computer Training Centre Ph.2347143)
- Sirathu Saviyyi Education Centre, Cherpu West
Elephants in Cherpu
ThrissurThrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
is known as the district for Pooram
Pooram
Pooram is an annual temple festival held in central Kerala after the summer harvest. Most pooram festivals have at least one ornately decorated elephant being paraded in the procession taken out of the temple precincts...
s. Most of the people who live in Thrissur
Thrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
are fond of elephants. Cherpu can also offer a set of elephants. People in Kerala name the elephants and they use them for festivals.
Bastian Vinaya Chandran
Bastian Vinaya Sankar
Saj Prasad
this elephant is not living now.
Thrivullakkavu Manikandan
The easy way to identify this elephant is by its tusks, which collapse together, making it difficult for the elephone to sway its trunks. It belongs to Thiruvullakkavu Dharmasastha Kshethram.Not living now
MK Timbers Pathmanabhan
This elephant was brought from Kodanad (a place in the outskirts of PalakkadPalakkad
Palakkad , formerly known as Palghat, is a municipality and a town in the state of Kerala in southern India, spread over an area of 26.60 km2.The city is situated about north of state capital Thiruvananthapuram. It is the administrative headquarters of Palakkad District...
Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
) Anakalari (place for teaching elephants). It was born in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
itself. The major factor that keeps the image of this elephant in the minds of elephant lovers is its wide ears. Therefore it is known as the elephant which has wide ears.
Thiruvanikkavu Jayaram Kannan and Thiruvanikkavu Devi Krishnan
Thiruvanikkavu Jayaram KannanThis elephant is owned by Malayalam film super star Mr.Jayaram and he has shared the ownership of the elephant with Shri. V.Gopakumar, Thiruvanikkavu temple. This elephant shows a humble character. He has played major roles in several Malayalam and Tamil movies. He has acted in 33 movies sofar and acting in Rapakal with Super Star Mammooty and with actress Nayan Thara is known for his talent and humble behavior. Thiruvanikkavu Jayaram Kannan is also been awarded "Gajarajapattam" by Kodannoor DharmaSastha Kshetram. The function was inaugurated and Gajarajapattam submitted by Honble. Minister for Home and Tourism Mr. Kodiyeri Bala Krishnan in presence of Shri K. B. Ganesh Kumar MLA, Mr. V. S SunilKumar MLA, Mr. Sathyan Anthikad, Mr. T.G.Ravi, Mr. Babu Namboodhiri, Mr. Sreeraman, Mr. Madambu Kunjhukuttan, Mr. Sreekumar Arookutty along with Mr. Jayaram
Jayaram
Jayaram is an Indian film actor who mainly acts in Malayalam and Tamil films. He is also a chenda percussionist and mimic artist. In 2011, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for his contribution towards the arts.-Early life:...
, Parvathy
Parvathy Jayaram
Ashwathy Kurup , better known by her stage name Parvathy, is an award-winning film actress from Kerala, India. Parvathy was a popular actress of Malayalam cinema industry and was active in films between 1986 and 1996. Her most notable works include "Amrutham Gamaya" ,"Oru Minnaminuginte Nurungu...
, son Kalidasan, daughter Malavika and Shri. V.Gopakumar.
Thiruvanikkavu Devi Krishnan
This elephant is 28 year old and with 10 ft height. Devi krishnan is known for its height at this young age and its humble behavior. He is a part of major festivals in Kerala. Now this elephant is belongs to Shri. V. Gopakumar.
Peruvanam pooram
Peruvanam temple in Cherpu is praised in the Manipravalam work Chandrostavam. Six Vattezhuthu and Malayalam inscriptions have been found in the temple. An 11th-century inscription from Thiruvattoor in north Kerala refers to seven persons originally belonging to this village, along with others being established there and a new settlement created. The main prathishta on this temple is Lord Siva. People believe that Peruvanam was once a big forest. The word vanam means forest in Malayalam. Peruvanam means a thick forest. This temple has artworks on the roof. It has a rare double-storeyed sreekovilSreekovil
The Sreekovil, also known as the Sanctum sanctorum, is the building in which the idol of the deity in a Hindu temple is installed.The area around the Sreekovil is referred as to the Chuttapalam, which generally includes other deities and the main boundary wall of the temple...
(sanctum sanctorum), each presided by a deity of Lord Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
. It is believed that Lord siva did tapas (penance) on a certain tree and that changed into the present sreekovil.
Peruvanam pooram began a long time ago. Legend has it that it started in the form of an Utsavam (a bit different in rituals from Pooram and extending to 28 days) which went on for 500 years. After that, it was stopped for a period of time. Later it was restarted in the form of two poorams Peruvanam and Arattupuzha. The new version has been in existence now for 1425 years. It is held in the Malayalam month of Meenam (usually, April). There will be an Ezhunnallippu (Malayalam word which means taking out a temple deity atop a caparisoned elephant along with many jumbos—here totalling seven—to the accompaniment of traditional percussion ensembles like Panchari melam
Panchari melam
Panchari Melam is a percussion ensemble, canonically lasting more than four hours, performed during temple festivals in Kerala, India. Panchari Melam , is one of the major forms of chenda melam , and is the best-known and most popular kshetram vadyam genre...
or Pandi melam
Pandi Melam
Pandi melam is a classical percussion concert or melam led by the ethnic Kerala instrument called the chenda and accompanied by ilathalam , kuzhal and Kombu....
. For the Peruvanam pooram, the first ezhunnallippu starts in the evening. More such processions follow, and the festival ends in the morning. The pooram has its highlight in the form of the four-hour Panchari melam starting past midnight and followed by fireworks.
Arattupuzha pooram
The famous Sastha temple at Aarattupuzha is 14 km south of Thrissur town, and celebrates its annual pooram festival in April/May. Arattupuzha pooram is known as Deva mela, a conglomeration of gods, given its massive attendance of deities from neighbourhood shrines. Historical records suggest that Arattupuzha pooram has been celebrated for more than 1,420 years. Like in Peruvanam, Arattupuzha pooram to features a series of ezhunnallipus. The highlight, however, is the kooti ezhunnallippu, where canonically 101 elephants would line up in the wee hours to the accompaniment of Pandi melams. The deity of Sriramaswamy, called Thriprayar Thevar, would occupy the centre slot, atop a decorated tusker on the main dyke (locally called nadavarambu) of the sprawling paddy fields.Arattupuzha Pooram is the oldest and arguably the most spectacular of the pooram festivals of Kerala. It is believed that on this day 101 gods and goddesses of the neighbouring villages visited Sastha (Ayyappa), the presiding deity of the Arattupuzha temple. Nowadays around 70 elephants take part in the pooram procession on the sixth day of the seven-day festival. Pachari melam, Pandi melam, Panchavadyam add to the festive tempo. The arattu (holy bath of the idol of the deity) ritual is performed with great pomp and gaiety in the Arattupuzha river on the following day.
The final pooram is conducted—these days with 61 caparisoned elephants—bearing bright coloured parasols, presenting an amazing spectacle. The temple ensembles lend the event a touch of majesty. The elephant carries the images of the deities of 41 neighbouring temples to this village. Arattupuzha temple is open 05:00 - 09:30 am & 05:00 - 07:00 pm. The festival concludes with the arattu (holy bath of the idol of the deity).
Thayamkulangara pooyam
Thayamkulangara is another temple in Cherpu. It is known as kerala palaniPalani
Palani is a city and a municipality in the Dindigul district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located about 100 km South of Coimbatore City and 60 km west of Dindigul...
. The main festival in this temple is pooyam. This is celebrated in January–February every year. People celebrate pooyam with kavadiyattom.
Wooden elephant making
Menon
Menon is a clan of the Nair community of Kerala and was an honorific hereditary title to be used as an affix to the name and investituted by the Sāmudiri Rāja on certain members of Kiryathil and Akattu Charna classes of Nairs. Menons who belonged to the Kiriyathil were Vassals to the Kings. The...
) by the locals in Cherpu, Thrissur. A person can identify elephants made from Cherpu easily by looking at the nail. The nail will be painted in white color neatly. An interesting aspect of this is that the elephants are made with a single piece of wood.
Further reading
- Official Website of Mithranandapuram Vamanamoorthy Temple
- Official website of Thiruvullakkavu devaswom
- Kerala state elections
- Peruvanam gramam
- Wikimapia
- PooramPooramPooram is an annual temple festival held in central Kerala after the summer harvest. Most pooram festivals have at least one ornately decorated elephant being paraded in the procession taken out of the temple precincts...
s - Cherpu Festival Pics
- News regarding Arattupuzha pooram on The Hindu
- Pooram
- thrissurpolice.com
- http://www.kerala.com/wiki-Pooram
- Wooden elephant making