Thrissur Pooram
Caparisoned elephants are seen during the Thrissur Pooram FestivalThrissur Pooram/Facebook

The much-awaited Thrissur Pooram, the biggest temple festival in Kerala, has kickstarted at the Vadakkumnathan temple in Thrissur, Kerala on Sunday, April 17.

The festivities of pooram began with the ceremonial entrance at 7 a.m. on Sunday, which will be followed by Elinjithara Melam at 2 p.m., royal dharbhar at 5:30 p.m., and fireworks at 3:00 a.m. on Monday morning. The farewell ceremony, known as Upacharam Cholli Piriyal, during which theidols of Thiruvambady Sri Krishna Temple and Paramekkavu Bagavathi Temple will be taken back to their respective temples, is scheduled at 12 p.m. on Monday.

Also read: All you need to know about Thrissur Pooram

The main attraction of the festival is the competition between two groups — Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu — with the participation of 30 caparisoned elephants accompanied by elinjithara melam (orchestra of musical instruments), kudamattam (exhibition of colourful and crafted umbrellas atop elephants) and vedikettu (fireworks).

Where to Watch Thrissur Pooram 2015 Live

Thrissur pooram festival is streamed online HERE. The 36-hour Thrissur Pooram ceremonies will be aired on major Malayalam channels. Watch the Thrissur Pooram live in news channel links - HEREHERE or HERE.

Get more details of Thrissur Pooram HERE

Meanwhile, the sample fireworks display was conducted by Paramekkavu and Thiruvambadi Devaswoms on Friday, April 15.

Watch the videos of sample vedikettu 2016 here:

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