Lok Sabha elections 2024: A feast for the gods

No mouth goes unfed during Thrissur Pooram be it the massive elephants that are part of the festivities or the thousands of devotees that participate in themSince the runup to the Pooram celebration nearly a week ago over 500 people have been fed breakfast lunch and dinner daily as part of the Annadhanam programme organised by the Paramekkavu Bagavathi temple DevosamThe 36hour nonstop spiritual and cultural celebration along with traditional musical ensembles will also witness over 25000 people being fed Annadhanam at the Pushpanjali hall next to the Paramekkavu Bagavathi temple The festival started at 1057 am on April 19 and will end at 2 04 pm on April 20P V Subramanyan food committee convenor of the Paramekkavu Bagavathi temple Devosam holds a mango used for making mambazha pulisseryInterestingly all the Annadhanam programmersquos expenses are met by the temple Devosam without taking any donations from devoteesmidday peeked into the kitchen where meals are cooked four times a day and are served for free to the publicMammoth taskldquoThe mammoth task of cooking for such a large number of gatherers is nothing less than a divine blessing which the temple Devosam has been handling for centuries The fact is no devotee is left without food as it never falls short or gets wastedrdquo explained P V Subramanyan food committee convenor of the temple DevosamVijayan K the main chef associated with the Annadhanam programme at Pushpanjali hall on Thursday PicsAtul KambleldquoKeralarsquos Thrissur Pooram has earned its place as the biggest festival in Asia The grand temple is a beautiful and colourful spectacle with caparisoned elephants sparkling parasols and loud percussive music Not to forget the sound of crackers that go off in the darkness lighting up the sky in gorgeous ricocheting colours and spectacular designs Thrissur Pooram is a combination of two words Thrissur the name of the city and Pooram which refers to a group or a meeting in Malayalamrdquo Subramanyan saidTraditional caterer servicesThe Sadhya for Annadhanam during the Pooram is prepared by Suresh Ambi Swami Catering Services run by the son of the late Ambi Swami who followed in the footsteps of his father and great grandfather by providing the traditional service to the Devosam pointed out to SubramanyanOnly twentyplus handpicked cooks working with the caterer prepare breakfast lunch and dinner They are assisted by over 100 men and women who help them chop vegetables and clean utensils The Annadhanam service started on April 16 and will end on April 20Mandatory food testingEvery staff member of the caterers including cooks and workers is screened by the district health department to ensure they are in good health before they start work a week before the Pooram festivities begin Only those certified fit are allowed by the Devosam to cook Similarly the sample food cooked is also tested daily by the health department staff They also ensure that good hygiene is maintained in cooking areas and kitchen pointed out SubramanyanMenu is not the sameVijayan K the main cook said ldquoCooking actually begins in the wee hours at 1 am By 8 am breakfast and lunch is ready The breakfast may be either idli sambar and chutney on one day and upma on another day Similarly for Sadhya during Pooram we prepare only a few itemsmdashrice sambar rassa two types of sabji etc The food is never wasted and by the end of the day all of it is overldquoThe food offered on April 19 is basic fare comprising kanji rice gruel chutney and papadom papad for around 500 people On March 20 is the Kudamattam Sadya a grand food feast served to around 20000 on the temple premisesrdquo explained VijayanKitchen surveillanceldquoNo outsider is allowed to enter the cooking area and even the place where the vegetables are getting chopped We have CCTV cameras and security guards are deployed at the main entrance pointrdquo said SubramanyanAsked about the food expenses and contribution for the Annadhanam during Pooram he said ldquoAll the Annadhanamrsquos expenses are taken care of by the Devosam and so are the expenses for the Pooram festival a practice which has been going on for years All people are welcomed by the Devosam for Annadhanam Also with the temperature soaring especially with humidity on the rise buttermilk is being offered to the peoplerdquoEcofriendly materialEvery material used to serve food in the Sadya is ecofriendly from the banana leaf to biodegradable plates and spoons used for serving kanji The vegetable waste from cutting peeling and scraping skins seeds etc is converted into compost for farms And on an average tonnes of waste get accumulated daily explained SubramanyanAsked if on the last day dinner will be served he promptly gave an affirmation and with that the yearly Pooram Annadhanam will also be overApril 20Day Annadhanam service will endDid you knowTo make this traditional sweet and sour curry served as Annadhanam the following ingredients were obtained 12000 pieces of special chandrakaran mango R200 per kilogram 1000 kg of moovandan mango It takes years for this mango tree to blossom 1000 kg of cucumber 400 litres of curd Spices