PUNNATHOOR KOTTA

Gajarajan Kesavan 

The  Guruvayur Devaswom maintains a unique elephant sanctuary, the only one of its kind in the World. It has 51 elephants now. These jumbos are the offerings of the devotees to the Lord. A large number of pilgrims and tourists visit this fascinating spot every day. In this vast compound, there are road facilities for pilgrims and tourists to go around. 

The present elephant sanctuary is in Punnathur Kotta about 3 kms north of Guruvayur temple. Punnathur Kotta is the ancient palace of the Punnathur Rajas, now in the possession of the Devaswom. There is also an ancient temple where Lord Siva and Bhagavathy are worshipped.

It is a 10 acre compound which Devaswom purchased in 1975, which was under receiver rule of Trichur sub court. Till that time elephants were kept in this Kovilakam compound (present Sreevalsam) to the south of the temple.

All the elephants were shifted to the Punnathur Kotta in a grant procession lead by Gajarajan Kesavan, all the elephants from the Kovilakam marched to Punnathur Kotta on 1975 June 25.

Many elephants of Guruvayur have become the part of history. The sweet memories of Gajarajan Kesavan - literally the king of all Elephants- still enthrall the hearts of the elephant lovers worldwide. The mammoth physique, his intelligence and devotion to the Lord were very famous.

Punnathurkotta was once the palace of a local ruler, but the palace grounds are now used to house the elephants belonging to the Guruvayoor temple, and has been renamed Anakkotta (meaning "Elephant Fort"). There were 86 elephants housed there, but currently there are about 66 elephants. The elephants are ritual offerings made by the devotees of Lord Guruvayurappa. This facility is also used to train the elephants to serve Lord Krishna as well as participate in many festivals that occur throughout the year. The oldest elephant is around 82 years of age and is called 'Ramachandran'. The rituals ofGajapooja (Worshipping Elephants) and Anayoottu (Feeding Elephants) are observed here, as an offering to Lord Ganesha. The legendary elephant "Guruvayur Keshavan" was housed here. The compound also has a naalu kettu, a traditional rectangular home with a central courtyard, which belonged to the Punnathur Raja. It is poorly maintained and presently houses a training school for Papans (Mahout). This complex also contains a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and Bhagavathy.

The visiting hours are 8.00AM to 6.00PM. The entry fees are Rs. 10/- per adult & Rs. 5/- for Children. An extra Rs. 25/- is charged for to use a camera and Rs. 1000/- inside the complex.

     guruvayoor padmanabhan           

NAME OF ELEPHANT

Padmanabhan

Ramankutty

Narayanankutty

Thara

Radhakrishnan

Junior Lakshmanan

Nandini

Gopalakrishnan

Kannan

Krishnan

Madhavankutty

Devi

Sathyanarayanan

Vishnu

Rajasekharan

Ramu

Kesavankutty

Gopeekrishnan

Vinayakan

Kesavan

Achuthan

Sreedharan

Chandrasekharan

Indersen

Nandan

Lakshmikrishna

Sankaranarayanan

Balu

Madhavan(junior)

Devadas

Gopeekannan

Resmi

Balakrishnan

Junior Vishnu

Murali

Vineethkrishnan

Ravikrishnan

Sidharthan

Mukundan

Navaneethkrishnan

Junior Kesavan

Balaram

Krishna

Junior Achuthan

Chenthamarakshan

Akshaykrishnan

Krishnanarayanan

Gokul

Sheshadri

Gajendra

Peethambaran

Damodardas

Keerthi

Aadhithyan

Lakshminarayanan

Sreekrishnan

Ananthanarayanan

Ayyappankutty

THRISSUR POORAM

Thrissur Pooram is the annual temple festival of the town of Thrissur in Kerala, India. It is one of the most colourful temple festival of Kerala which attracts large masses of devotees and spectators from all parts of the State and even outside.
Thrissur Pooram is celebrated at the premises of the Vadakkunnathan Temple, situated on a hillock (Thekkinkadu maidan) right in the centre of the city, on the Pooram day in the month of Medom (April-May). Processions of richly caparisoned elephants accompanied by percussion ensembles from various neighbouring temples culminate at the Vadakumnathan temple. The most impressive processions are those Thriuvambadi Bhagavathy from the Thiruvambadi Sri Krishna Temple and the Paramekkavu Bhagavathi from Paramekkavu temple. The celebrations which last for over 36 hours includes parasol displays and firework shows.
This festival was introduced by Sakthan Thampuran, the Maharaja of the erstwhile Cochin State in the late eighteenth century. Perhaps, there is no other festival in Kerala that draws such an unbelievable number of people to a single event. However Vadakkunnathan is a mere spectator at this festival, lending its premises and grounds for the great event. The pooram festival is also well known for the magnificent display of fireworks. Fire works start in the early hours and the dazzling display last three to four hours.
The Pooram Festival is celebrated by two rival groups representing the two divisions of Thrissur Paramekkavu and Thiruvambadi vying with each other in making the display of fireworks grander and more colourful. Each group is allowed to display a maximum of fifteen elephants and all efforts are made by each party to secure the best elephants in South India and the most artistic parasols, several kinds of which are raised on the elephants during the display. Commencing in the early hours of the morning, the celebrations last till the break of dawn, the next day

The procession but also quite enlivening. The marvellous as well as magical effect of the Panchavadyam, a combination of five percussion and wind instruments is to be felt and enjoyed. Among the varieties of festivals celebrated in Kerala, Thrissur Pooram is the most thunderous, spectacular and dazzling. There are three temples participating in the event. It is an expression of popular fascination for sound and colour, and because of the pageantry, it appeals to all people. The images of the deities from all temples of the village are taken on elephants to the main temple. The climax of the festival is the exhibition of thirty elephants and the famous fireworks at 2.30 am local time.
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GURUVAYOOR TEMPLE

Guruvayur is most famous for its temple, which is many centuries old and one of the most important in Kerala. The temple's deity is Lord Guruvayurappan in the form of Balagopalan (Krishna in the form of a child). While non-Hindus are not permitted to enter the temple, Guruvayurappan has a strong believers from many religions.
Krishnanattam Kali, a noted classical performing art that was instrumental in the initial development of the world-famous dance-drama Kathakali, has a good base in Guruvayur as the temple administration (Guruvayur Devaswom) runs a Krishnattam institute. In addition, Guruvayur temple is famous for two renowned classical literary works: Narayaneeyam by Melpathoor Narayana Bhattathiri and Jnanappana by Poonthanam, both (late) authors being ardent devotees of Guruvayurappan. While Narayaneeyam is a brisk walk through of the Dasaavatharam (10 incarnations of Maha Vishnu) in Sanskrit, Jnanappana is in native Malayalam, observing the naked truths of life and preaching the do's and dont's.
Guruvayur is a major venue for the south Indian classical Carnatic music, especially during its auspicious ekadasi day held in the memory of legendary vocalist Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar, another ardent devotee of Guruvayurappan. The temple also holds the annual festival (ulsavam) in the Malayalam month of Kumbham (February-March) during which it hosts classical arts like Kathakali, Koodiyattam,Panchavadyam, Thayambaka and Panchari Melam. The place has given birth many noted percussionists of ethnic instruments like chenda, maddalam, timila, ilathalam and idakka.
The temple is being run by the Guruvayur Devaswom Management Committee under the directions of Government of Kerala. The temporary members of committee are "nominated" by the ruling party of the state government from time to time. The permanent members are the current heads of the families of Chennas Mana (the heridatory Thantri of the temple), Samuthiri and Mallisseri Mana.

HOW TO REACH

Guruvayur is well connected with the other parts of the country by road and rail. The National highway is passing through Kunnamkulam which is just 8 kms away from Guruvayur. The private bus stand is towards the east of the temple, near Manjulal (the banyan tree). It is half an hour drive by car from Thrissur and busses ply every 5 minutes from Thrissur to Guruvayur.
Kerala Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) runs bus services from all major locations of the state and few inter-state services. The bus stand is 500 meters to the west of the temple. Both KSRTC and private busses offer interstate services to all major South Indian cities like Madras, Madurai, Palani, Salem, Coimbatore, Thiruchandoor, Mysore, Mangalore, Uduppi, Mookambika etc.
By railGuruvayur has got a railway station towards the east of the temple which is connected to the Madras-Mangalore main line at Thrissur. It has got computerised ticket booking facility and tickets can be booked to any locations from here. One from the Mangalore side can get down at the Kuttippram station. Regular buss services are available from there to Guruvayur. Those from the Madras/Trivandrum side can get down at Thrissur.
By air
Kochi international airport (Nedumbassery) is 80 kms from Guruvayur and the Calicut airport is 100 kms away. All major international flight services are operated from these airports.

KERALA KALAMANDALAM

Kerala Kalamandalam is a major centre for learning Indian performing arts, especially those that developed in the southern state of Kerala. It is situated in the village of Cheruthuruthy in Thrissur district on the banks of the Bharathapuzha.
The institution, now a deemed university, was founded in 1930 by poet Vallathol Narayana Menon and Manakkulam Mukunda Raja. Kalamandalam imparts training in classical dance and theatre forms like Kathakali, Mohiniyattam, Kudiyattam, Thullal, Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam, and Nangiar Koothu, besides the traditional orchestra called Panchavadyam. Training is also given in various percussion instruments like chenda, maddalam and mizhavu. Kalamandalam follows the gurukula sampradayam, the ancient Indian education system based on residential tutelage.

Kalamandalam was conceived to provide training to its students in the Gurukula Sampradaya, an ancient tradition of residential schooling where students stayed with the teachers, sharing the same atmosphere and learning from them the nuances of the arts. Eminent masters were brought to Kalamandalam. Training sessions, which started in the morning, extended till late in the night.

VILANGAN HILLS

Vilangan Hills, Thrissur is a hillock, set amidst a picturesque locale. Situated on the outskirts of the main city of Thrissur, it is about 5 km from the city center. The hill is covered with verdant green bushes that give it a serene surrounding. The elevation provides a beautiful view of the city of Thrissur. Near the top of the hill, there is also an open air theater. All this and more make Vilangan Hills one of the most favored travel attractions in Thrissur For the lovers of nature, sunrise and sunset are the preferred times to visit the Vilangan Hills. The Vilangan Hills of Thrissur is popular with the young and old alike. The scenic splendor forms a perfect backdrop for a day out, placid walks, and short trips.