POORAM

Pooram is an annual temple festival held in central Kerala (Thrissur, Ernakulam, Palakkad, parts of Malappuram) 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. However, there are some, such as Aryankavu Pooram near Shoranur and Machattu Thiruvanikavu Vela near Wadakkanchery that do not use the caparisoned elephant, instead go for stilted mannequins of horses or bullocks. The most famous of all Poorams is the Thrissur Pooram. Some other well-known pooram festivals are Kollam pooram, Arattupuzha-Peruvanam Pooram, Nenmara Vallangi Vela, Uthralikavu Pooram and Chinakkathoor Pooram.

Major Attractions of Pooram 

A melam is a classical performance of different kind of musical instruments that are unique to Kerala and is something akin to the jazz. The most traditional of all melams is called Pandi Melam which is generally performed outside the temple, during the festival. Another kind of melam is called Panchari Melam, which is similar to Pandi Melam going by the kind of instruments, but played inside the temple and following a different rhythmic beat.

Panchavadyam (pancha in Sanskrit means five) is another classical musical ensemble performed in Kerala. Here, five different kinds of instruments create a breathtaking and fastmoving percussion performance. The five instruments are Madhalam, Kombu, Edakka, Elathalam and Timila.

Thayambaka is a solo Chenda (drum) performance, where the performer uses one stick and the other hand to play the instrument instead of the usual two sticks.

Pandimelam

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.

A full-length Pandi, a melam based on a thaalam with seven beats, lasts more than two-and-a-half hours, and is canonically performed outside temples. It has basically four stages, each of them with rhythmic cycles (thaalavattam) totalling 56, 28, 14 and seven respectively.

The most celebrated Pandi Melam is staged inside a temple compound at the Vadakkunnathan shrine's precincts in the central Kerala town of Thrissur. For the last several years, Peruvanam Kuttan Marar is the lead conductor for this symphony of drums known as Elanjithara Melam. Elsewhere, like in the pooram festivals of Aarattupuzha and Peruvanam near Thrissur and the rest of central and northern Kerala, Pandi Melam, performed outside temple precincts in general

Pancharimelam

Panchari Melam is a percussion ensemble, canonically lasting more than four hours, performed during temple festivals in Kerala, India. Panchari Melam (or, simply, panchari), is one of the major forms of chenda melam (ethnic drum ensemble), and is the best-known and most popular kshetram vadyam (temple percussion) genre. Panchari melam, comprising instruments like chenda, ilathalam, kombu and kuzhal, is performed during virtually every temple festival in central Kerala, where it is arguably presented in the most classical manner. Panchari, however, is also traditionally performed, with a touch of subtle regional difference, in north (Malabar) and south-central Kerala (Kochi). Of late, its charm has led to its performance even in deep-south Kerala temples. Panchari melam is performed either in its elaborate form (during annual temple festivals) or in its sketchy detail (to accompany the daily or weekly temple rituals). Either ways, they are performed only within the walls of the temple.­­­

The ensemble starts at the main entrance to the inner part of the temple, slowly circling the shrine clockwise while playing. A panchari melam has five stages, each of them based on beats totalling 96, 48, 24, 12 and six respectively.

The semi-circular procession, with caparisoned elephants totalling between three to fifteen generally), is led by the deity of the temple kept on tusker in the centre.    (In a pure ritualistic case, the idol is carried by the Namboodiri priest himself). The deity faces the musical ensemble and devotees/melam buffs, the latter surrounding the musicians and following the progress of the melam.

Other Attractions of Pooram

Interesting attractions of Pooram can be seen in the Valluvanad and Talappilly region. There is the Harijan Vela or Parayar Vela as well as the Tholpavakoothu, a traditional shadow puppetry show.