Thrissur-The Cultural Capital of Kerala...

Thrissur city, the Cultural capital of Kerala, until approximately 20 years ago was known as "Thiru-siva-per-oor"; which is derived from the conjugated words thiru(sacred), -Siva (Lord Shiva), per (named) and ooru (place). It means "The place in the name of sacred Lord Shiva". It is built around a 65-acre hillock (called the Thekkinkadu Maidan) which seats the Vadakkumnathan temple. It is believed to have been founded by the legendary saint Parasurama. This area is the city's cultural and spiritual centre, offering --- in addition to religious experiencs --- an array of festivals and historical and natural sights..




Access
Air-The nearest airport is at Cochin, 78 km away.
Rail- Thrissur is linked to most major towns inside and outside Kerala.
Road-Motorable roads connect Thrissur to several important centres. Thrissur city lies on National Highways NH 47 and NH 17.




FACT SHEET
Area 3032 sq. km.
Population (1993) 274,225
Altitude Sea level
Temperature Max : 35oC
Min : 22.5oC
Rainfall 254 cm
Clothing Tropical cottons
Tourist Season September to March But Wanna see the pooram come in May..

54 km long coastal area. South East corner of the District is bounded by Tamil Nadu. Mountains-Machad, Paravattani, Palapalli, Kodeswary & Athirapalli. The Periyar, The Chalakudy, The Karuvannur and The Ponnani (Bharatha Puzha) are the main river systems in the District.



The Town Hall in Thrissur has a magnificent building in a huge area with lawns and gardens. It is a favorite among the tourist who love art. It is famous for its picture gallery or ‘chitralayam.’. The picture gallery exhibits mural paintings brought from the various regions of Kerala. The Town Hall at Thrissur is a very important building where public meetings and numerous cultural programmes are held regularly. It is located about 1km from the city center.

The Kerala State Museum and Zoo is located at Town Hall Road in Chembukavu, 2 km from Thrissur railway station. Established in 1885, the museum is spread over an area of 5.5 hectors of land. The museum complex includes an Art Section with a collection of sculptures, religious idols, Kathakali figures, traditional jewellery of the state and traditional lamps. Besides the Art Museum, a Natural History Museum displaying sample collection of different animals, a Zoological and Botanical Garden are located in this compound




The famous SakthanThampuran palace, now preserved by the Archaeological Department, highlights several interesting and outstanding attributes of the former rulers of Cochin. The palace also known as 'Thoppu', covering an area of 6 acres of land, narrates the history of Thrissur.

Vilangan Kunnu
Vilangan Kunnu alias Vilangan hill is a beautiful green hillock located 5 kms from the city premises. It is a popular picnic spot and recreation center among the youngsters. The hill gives a panoramic view of the whole city from the top.

You also find here big temples, Churches and Mosques:



Cathedral Church

Asia's highest church, the Basilica of Our Lady of Dolours (Puthan Pally), Our Lady of Lourdes's Metropolitan Cathedral of Syrian Catholics is noted for its imposing interior. Its main attraction is an underground shrine which is a masterpiece of architectural design. The Sacred Heart Latin Church of Latin Catholics and the Mart Mariam Big Church, Indian headquarters of Chaldean/Assyrian Church of the East, are also situated at Thrissur. The district also houses the headquarters of the Malabar Independent Syrian Church in Thozhiyoor. The ancient port of Muziris or Kodungaloor is the cradle of Christianity and Islam in India. This is where St. Thomas arrived in India. Later he established the first church in India at Palayur.



Kalathode Juma Masjid

Kodungaloor houses the first Muslim mosque of the country built by Cheraman Perumaal, a Hindu king who accepted Islam. It is believed that Adi Shankara spent his last days here.




Kerala Sahitya Academy, an autonomous institution established for the promotion and development of Malayalam language and literature, is also in Thrissur.

Kerala Kalamandalam
The famous art school, Kerala Kalamandalam is located at Cheruthuruthy on the banks of Bharathapuzha at a distance of 29 km north of Thrissur. It was founded in 1930 by the Malayalam poet Vallathol Narayana Menon in order to promote Kerala arts likes Mohiniyattom and Kathakali. The school follows the gurukulam system of training and is a center for teaching traditional music, drama, Ottam thullal, Koodiyattam and Panchavadhyam. Besides regular courses the school also offers crash courses

Punnathoor Kotta
Punnathoor Kotta or Fort, once the abode of the Punnathoor Zamorin (ruler) is now home to elephants brought as ritual offerings to the Sree Krishna Temple Guruvayoor by the devotees. Here the elephants, over 50 in number are trained and groomed in the green wooded environs of the vast compound of the fort. A tour to the fort, just 2kms from the Guruvayoor temple and 35km from Trichur.

And other place near is the Peechi Dam.

Sports:
Football is the most popular sport in Thrissur city. Thrissur has a floodlit stadium, known as Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium. There are three more stadiums (Thope, Kerala Varma College and Agricultural University). It also has two indoor stadiums (V.K.N.Menon Indoor Stadium & Thope Stadium) and a Sports Authority of India (SAI) maintained swimming pool with international facilities. The veteran footballers and former Indian captains C. V. Pappachan, I. M. Vijayan and Jo Paul Ancheri hail from this city. Thrissur has contributed many national and international bodybuilding stars to India, such as T. V. Poly and V. M. Basheer.

Paramekkavu Bagavathi Temple and Thiruvambadi Sree krishna Tempal are the two rival groups participating in Thrissur Pooram.








Thrissur and Pooram, (the festival of festivals with an unmatched pageantry of a hundred drums, dozens of caparisoned elephants and brilliant fireworks) are so inseparably integrated that the extravaganza of Pooram, excites you in the same breath when you hear the name of Trichur.

Wanna see the pooram visit Thrissur in May, it would be too hot here, but you will have something very memorable to cherish..

These are the pictures of Pooram, taken by my BIL...It was at Mission Hospital, in Thrissur that I was born.