Le Coeur de la ville de Thrissur

    It is 5 o'clock in the morning. My dad pulls off my sheet. As I look through my groggy eyes, he says " let's go see Grandma at Thrissur" and thence started my preparation for the journey of a fifty and hundred kilometers to the Cultural Capital of Kerala.
    As we reach the city center, the " Swaraj Round", we are greeted by a millennia old behemoth standing in a 65 acre maidan. Popular lore has it that the Sri Vadakkumnathan temple was established when Parasurama invited his Guru, Lord Shiva to consecrate the newly formed landmass - Kerala. When Shiva came down to the south , he took rest in the place now called Thrissur. Then, he disappeared, leaving but a linga. Also situated near the temple is a very famous shrine to the goddess Bhadrakali. One visiting one must visit the other
    Outside the temple is a giganormous banyam tree. It would fit in comfortably with the trees of Pandora. With a huge canopy large enough to cover a couple of tennis courts, it has humoured hundreds of generations. This tree is situated in the legendary " Thekinkadu Maidanam" where the Thrissur Pooram, the " Mother of all Poorams" takes place.
    Another great thing about Thrissur is the calm and quiet in the streets. There is not much litter and the people on the thoroughfares are very helpful.
    The picture was taken outside the temple. Cameras and phones are prohibited near the sanctum sanctorium, where the deities reside.
    Later in the day, as we turned the bonnet of the car towards home, I had a feeling of leaving behind a friend in the Cultural City of Kerala.