Tripping in Thrissur
Temples, a church, a dance and performing arts university, a wedding, an ammama, appams, and quiet flows the Nila. The Swaraj Round, located at the centre of Thrissur town in central Kerala in southern India, is said to be among the largest traffic roundabouts in the world. About two kilometres in circumference, it encircles 65 acres of the Thekkinkadu maidan. Within the maidan, the Vadakkunnathan temple sprawls serenely over nine acres of well tended lawns and walkways within four imposing gopurams facing the north, south, east, and west. Vadakkunnathan temple, together with the Thiruvambady Sri Krishna temple on Shornur Road less than a kilometer to the north and the Paramekkavu Bhagavathi temple to the east just across the Swaraj Round, are the three principal temples that participate in the annual Thrissur Pooram, one of India’s largest and most colourful temple festivals. A short walk from the Swaraj Round, in the middle of busy streets and lanes, the white walls and towers of th...