Thrissur Pooram 2025: The Met Gala of Elephants, Fireworks, and Drum Battles
isn't just hosting a festival—it's dropping the hottest invite-only (but actually open-to-all) party South India has to offer:
Thrissur Pooram
. Think Coachella, but with less glitter and way more percussion.
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
It's that annual moment when tradition puts on its biggest gold-trimmed shades and says, 'Let's get loud.'
Set in the cultural nucleus of Thrissur, this celestial showdown isn't just about religious devotion—it's about flexing festival muscle.
Two temples, Paramekkavu and Thiruvambady, face off like it's the
Pitch Perfect
finals, except instead of acapella, it's thunderous
chenda melam
drum orchestras, capped with a literal explosion of color and noise that makes Times Square on New Year's Eve look like a tea party.
The elephants? Oh, they're not just there for a walk. These tusked titans are decked out like they're attending the Oscars—except their tux is 24-karat golden nettipattams (head ornaments) and fans waving in synchronized choreography. Picture a crossover episode between
The Crown
and
The Jungle Book
—it's regal, it's wild, it's everything.
And the fireworks? NASA called. They want their launchpads back. The pyrotechnic warfare kicks off in the middle of the night and could wake the ghosts of ancient kings.
It's visual chaos, the kind that makes Michael Bay's entire filmography look understated.
But beyond the glitz and audible tremors, Thrissur Pooram is the epitome of
unity in diversity
. Temples, communities, and artists blend in harmony, proving once again that when Kerala decides to throw a party, it doesn't just raise the roof—it launches it into the stratosphere.
Anyone still unsure about attending should know this: skipping Thrissur Pooram is like skipping the final episode of
Breaking Bad
—technically legal, but spiritually unforgivable.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
27 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
India on precipice of amazing, undeniable global soft power: Comedian Vir Das
NEW YORK: India is on the precipice of an "amazing, undeniable" global soft power whose "guardians" in equal measure are both those living in the homeland as well as the Indian diaspora, Emmy-Award winning comedian and actor Vir Das has said. "I think something that the diaspora does really well is protect culture," Das said here during a special interaction hosted at Asia Society. Das, who won the 2023 International Emmy for Best Comedy for his comedy special Landing, said amid applause and laughter from the audience at the event that what he finds "lovely" about the Indian diaspora is that while they have an American accent and American values, but "at your shaadi, you (dance) to Mehendi laga ke rakhna". The Asia Society event on Thursday was presented in collaboration with global media platform, community and agency South Asian Trailblazers and was held on the eve of the premiere of Das's latest comedy special Vir Das: Fool Volume. "India is on the precipice of an amazing, undeniable global soft power, and it only translates when the bridge happens from me to you. So we are both ends carrying that soft power," Das said, a message for the Indian diaspora settled across the world. "We are both guardians of India's soft power at an equal level." Citing the example of Indian actor and singer Diljit Dosanjh, who became the first Punjabi singer to perform at the popular Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California in 2023, Das said, "When Diljit performs at Coachella, that is an amazing, undeniable thing. The diaspora has to show up to pack Coachella. When he shows up in India, we'll pack it for him. But when he comes to Coachella, show up, for modern Indian culture". your child would be better served by creating that mindset," Das said.
News18
32 minutes ago
- News18
India on precipice of amazing, undeniable global soft power: Comedian Vir Das
New York, Jul 20 (PTI) India is on the precipice of an 'amazing, undeniable" global soft power whose 'guardians" in equal measure are both those living in the homeland as well as the Indian diaspora, Emmy-Award winning comedian and actor Vir Das has said. 'I think something that the diaspora does really well is protect culture," Das said here during a special interaction hosted at Asia Society. Das, who won the 2023 International Emmy for Best Comedy for his comedy special 'Landing', said amid applause and laughter from the audience at the event that what he finds 'lovely" about the Indian diaspora is that while they have an American accent and American values, but 'at your shaadi, you (dance) to 'Mehendi laga ke rakhna'. The Asia Society event on Thursday was presented in collaboration with global media platform, community and agency South Asian Trailblazers and was held on the eve of the premiere of Das's latest comedy special 'Vir Das: Fool Volume'. 'India is on the precipice of an amazing, undeniable global soft power, and it only translates when the bridge happens from me to you. So we are both ends carrying that soft power," Das said, a message for the Indian diaspora settled across the world. 'We are both guardians of India's soft power at an equal level." Citing the example of Indian actor and singer Diljit Dosanjh, who became the first Punjabi singer to perform at the popular Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California in 2023, Das said, 'When Diljit performs at Coachella, that is an amazing, undeniable thing." 'The diaspora has to show up to pack Coachella. When he shows up in India, we'll pack it for him. But when he comes to Coachella, show up, for modern Indian culture," he said. Responding to a question during the interactive Q&A session with the audience on what are some of the things the next generation should adopt from the current one, Das said one would be to know 'that India is far more open-minded than you think it is. I say this with all due respect to the diaspora. ' Sometimes you are raised in a time capsule version of India, that is the last version of India that your parents left behind, and that India doesn't exist anymore," he said to applause from the audience. Das added that 'You are raised in more conservative households than we are, many times. So, please come and visit modern India." 'Come and visit a place that does everything from Diljit to Mika to 'RRR' to 'Hanumankind'," Das said, referring to the popular Indian artists, the blockbuster movie which won the Oscar for Best Original Song at the 2023 Academy Awards for 'Naatu, Naatu' and the India-born rapper Sooraj Cherukat. Das underlined that there are things happening in India right now that kids of the Indian diaspora need to know. 'The second thing is that it is okay to be flawed. I feel like children who are raised in the diaspora, you are under tremendous pressure to have model minority behaviour, more so than kids who are raised back home" because opportunities are far more scarce. 'It is a smaller community here, but try and create the abundance mindset that you had when there were a billion jobs for you. I know that there are fewer jobs, that's a very tough mindset to create, but I think your child would be better served by creating that mindset," Das said. PTI YAS NSA NSA view comments First Published: July 20, 2025, 10:30 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
NDTV
33 minutes ago
- NDTV
India On Precipice Of Amazing, Undeniable Global Soft Power: Vir Das
India is on the precipice of an "amazing, undeniable" global soft power whose "guardians" in equal measure are both those living in the homeland as well as the Indian diaspora, Emmy-Award winning comedian and actor Vir Das has said. "I think something that the diaspora does really well is protect culture," Das said here during a special interaction hosted at Asia Society. Das, who won the 2023 International Emmy for Best Comedy for his comedy special 'Landing', said amid applause and laughter from the audience at the event that what he finds "lovely" about the Indian diaspora is that while they have an American accent and American values, but "at your shaadi, you (dance) to 'Mehendi laga ke rakhna'. The Asia Society event on Thursday was presented in collaboration with global media platform, community and agency South Asian Trailblazers and was held on the eve of the premiere of Das's latest comedy special 'Vir Das: Fool Volume'. "India is on the precipice of an amazing, undeniable global soft power, and it only translates when the bridge happens from me to you. So we are both ends carrying that soft power," Das said, a message for the Indian diaspora settled across the world. "We are both guardians of India's soft power at an equal level." Citing the example of Indian actor and singer Diljit Dosanjh, who became the first Punjabi singer to perform at the popular Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California in 2023, Das said, "When Diljit performs at Coachella, that is an amazing, undeniable thing." "The diaspora has to show up to pack Coachella. When he shows up in India, we'll pack it for him. But when he comes to Coachella, show up, for modern Indian culture," he said. Das, who was first nominated for the 2021 International Emmy for Comedy for his previous Netflix special 'Vir Das: For India', had hosted the prestigious global awards last year. Responding to a question during the interactive Q&A session with the audience on what are some of the things the next generation should adopt from the current one, Das said one would be to know "that India is far more open-minded than you think it is. I say this with all due respect to the diaspora. " Sometimes you are raised in a time capsule version of India, that is the last version of India that your parents left behind, and that India doesn't exist anymore," he said to applause from the audience. Das added that "You are raised in more conservative households than we are, many times. So, please come and visit modern India." "Come and visit a place that does everything from Diljit to Mika to 'RRR' to 'Hanumankind'," Das said, referring to the popular Indian artists, the blockbuster movie which won the Oscar for Best Original Song at the 2023 Academy Awards for 'Naatu, Naatu' and the India-born rapper Sooraj Cherukat. Das underlined that there are things happening in India right now that kids of the Indian diaspora need to know. "The second thing is that it is okay to be flawed. I feel like children who are raised in the diaspora, you are under tremendous pressure to have model minority behaviour, more so than kids who are raised back home" because opportunities are far more scarce. "It is a smaller community here, but try and create the abundance mindset that you had when there were a billion jobs for you. I know that there are fewer jobs, that's a very tough mindset to create, but I think your child would be better served by creating that mindset," Das said.
