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In A First, Woman To Recieve 'Poruthu' To Light Up Firework Display At Thrissur Pooram
Writer: Yukta Baid
She is a postgraduate student of Journalism at SIMC Pune, passionate about exploring and reporting different beats with an objective view. Keen interest in, but not limited to, lifestyle and culture. I hold a triple major in English, Psychology, and Journalism. It's always easier to find stories over a cup of coffee.
Kerala, 9 May 2022 7:49 AM GMT
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A post-graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication with relevant skills, specialising in content editing & writing. I believe in the precise dissemination of information based on facts to the public.
Creatives : Shiva Chaudhary
A post-graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication with relevant skills, specialising in content editing & writing. I believe in the precise dissemination of information based on facts to the public.
The ritual of 'Poruthu' entails handing over the gunpowder-coated wick used to light the firework display to the assigned contractors. For the first time in the Pooram's history, a woman has received the position.
One of Kerala's most extravagantly celebrated temple festivals, Thrissur Pooram, is set to bounce back to full scale after a two-year halt due to Covid-19 restrictions. Leaving her mark in history, Sheena Suresh is the first woman to receive the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) license and approval to hold the fireworks display at the event.
Scripting History
The Thrissur Pooram is an annual festival celebrated with grandeur, music performances, firework displays and huge crowds, and it is back to be celebrated with pomp. Two years of the pandemic had forced it to be a simple ritual-based ceremony, far from how it was.
The ritual of 'Poruthu' entails handing over the gunpowder-coated wick used to light the firework display to the assigned contractors. For the first time in the Pooram's history, a woman received the Poruthu at the Vadakkumnathan temple.
Sheena Suresh, a resident of Kundannur, near Wadakkanchery in Thrissur, holds the firework license for the temple of Thiruvambadi, one of the two main organisers of the Pooram. Suresh has a pyrotechnic experience of over 20 years and has been backstage for countless displays, but now she is the team lead, a position reserved for men since the beginning, reported The New Indian Express.
Tragic Significance
Sheena was introduced to pyrotechnics when she married into the Panthalangatt family, who had been making fireworks for decades. She had lost her husband Kundannur Sundaran when the sample firework display for the 2004 Thrissur Pooram was happening, and an accident took place. A tragic coincidence, but he was in charge of the fireworks display at the same Thiruvambadi temple that year.
Sheena, who married Sundaran's brother Suresh later, continued working in the same field despite it being a constant reminder of her loss. According to her, his strong support made her apply for the license for the Pooram this year; she told The Hindu.
Regarding the current event, she told the publication that she is very excited because it's an honour for a pyrotechnician to display their work on such a massive scale. The sample fireworks were tested on May 8, and the main fireworks would be displayed on May 11.
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