I had only seen the Thrissur Pooram on television at home. All I knew about the festival was that it involved a lot of elephants and grand firework displays. But these snippets of information had whetted my appetite for more, and so, here I was in the cultural capital of Kerala to learn more about this famous festival. I asked 2 friends of mine – Sheetal and her sister Shamsi – to help me on my quest. They enthusiastically agreed. Being natives of Thrissur, they had a wealth of information to share with me. 

But first, came lunch. Sheetal’s mother is a very good cook and she had made a special preparation with raw plantain. Lunch was a delicious vegetarian affair and soon we were all having a good time. The dining table became a debating arena with Sheetal’s parents good naturedly arguing about who knew more about religion. It was easy to see how close knit this family was and I was touched at the warm way they accepted me. After lunch I had planned to take a nap, but my 2 friends had other plans. They had managed to get in touch with someone who would tell me about the Thrissur Pooram. So after lunch, we left for his house.

His name was Narayanan Picharedi. My friends told me that he was a retired schoolteacher with 65 years of experience. Finding his house was a bit difficult but we eventually made it with an auto rickshaw for a fare of Rs.10; quite cheap when compared to the fares of Kochi or Trivandrum. The house was a traditional tharavadu, a very old and very big house. It was built in the traditional Kerala style of architecture. The man himself was very old – he was 89, and the house was said to be as old as him, if not older. We soon discovered that Narayanan Picharedi was a little hard of hearing, which made for a very interesting conversation and some hilarious situations. When we introduced ourselves I told him my name was ‘Deepu’, a common Hindu name, thinking it would be easier for him to understand

Shamsi began the interview, “Appupa [grandfather], could you tell us something about the Pooram festival?” -  after repeating the question for the third time, he seemed to understand us. “Art is nothing but man’s invention”, he told us. “Art was made by men, for men. But now he uses it in the name of God.” Shamsi quickly said “aana [elephant]”. Understanding dawned in his eyes. “Yes”, he said, “The elephant used to be the king of our forests. But man in his pride, captured and enslaved them to show his bravery and supremacy”.

A few honest men who knew how much this animal was to be respected, decided to set a few days during which the elephant would be respected and adored. This was how the festival was started. “But now”, says Narayanan, “every temple has an elephant to show it’s power. Now elephants lead royal lives, but they are not free to reign in their forest kingdoms.”

Narayanan is a very religious person. He firmly believes in his religion and God, his creator. But this has not made him narrow-minded. In fact after talking to him, I was amazed at how broadminded his thinking was.  When the time came for us to leave, he asked me my name again. This time I told him the truth, “Ismail”. I had to repeat it at least 10 times and finally I wrote it down for him on paper. He read it and laughed. A laugh which had a smile; a smile which had a thought; a thought as clean and pure as water of a true elixir.

Author - Ismail