Billed as the mother of all temple festivals inKerala, the annual pooram was normally held at the sprawlingThekkinkadu Maidan in Thrissur city.
The festival was a gathering of 'Pooram' and jumbolovers around the globe who could be seen dancing to therhythm of percussion instruments.
But, this year, the Thekkinkadu ground wore adeserted look as the Vadakkunnathan Lord Shiva templecancelled the celebrations due the nationwide lockdown.
The state government and members of the twodevaswom boards, which organises the festival, had helddiscussions and consulted the temple priests on April15 and"unanimously decided" to cancel the Pooram.
"After considering the unusual situation ofpandemic we are facing, the state government and the devaswomBoards have unanimously decided to cancel the famous ThrissurPooram (festival) and will conduct only the necessaryrituals," state minister V S Sunilkumar said.
The rituals were conducted on Saturday, inside theVadakkunnathan temple with the participation of around fivepeople and devotees were not allowed inside.
All other events related to the Thrissur pooram,including the exhibition, mini-poorams also stood cancelled.
Musical maestro Peruvanam Kuttan Marar, whohasbeen leading this majestic orchestra for the lastfourdecades, told the media that pooram was an "emotion closeto the hearts of all Keralites."
"The cancellation of the Pooram is a loss to allthe Keralaites across the world.The pooram was our pride.
It's an emotion that remains close to our heart.Now, we all wait for the next year's pooram," he said.
The pooram was earlier cancelled during manyinstances, including in 1948 when Mahatma Gandhi wasassassinated and then during the Chinese war.
"Earlier it was also cancelled or held with minimumrituals when there was a difference of opinion over conductingbursting the fireworks and handling of the usual exhibition,"Sunilkumar said earlier.
The two-centuries-old Thrissur Pooram had itsorigin in 1798, through a royal edict of the then Raja RamaVarma, popularly known as Shakthan Thampuran, a powerful rulerof the erstwhile princely state of Cochin.
The edict entrusted two local temples -- Paramekkavuand Thiruvambady -- as the main sponsors of the festivities tobe conducted in a competitive spirit.
Besides the main poorams by the two devaswoms,small poorams from nearby temples also participate in thefestivities, which ends with the fireworks display.
However, pooram lovers and jumbo fans "celebrated"this year's pooram on social media platforms with many sharingphotos and notes and their memories of the festival held inprevious years. RRT BNWELCOME BNWELCOME