Thekkinkadu Maidanam is situated in the middle of Thrissur city of Kerala state in India. This hillock which seats the Vadakkumnathan Temple, is an open ground in the centre of the Thrissur city which is under the custody of the Cochin Devaswom Board (CDB). It hosts the spectacular cultural festival Thrissur Pooram, which is considered the ''Mother of all

Poorams Pooram pronounced is an annual festival, which is celebrated in temples dedicated to goddesses Durga or Kali held especially in Valluvanad (southern Malabar), Valluvanadu area and other adjoining parts of north-central Kerala (Present Pala ...

in Kerala''.

History

Thekkinkadu Maidan was a dense forest in olden days. All kinds of wild animals used to roam in the forest where wanted criminals of Thrissur were executed. The soldiers used to push the criminals in to dense forest from one of the Vadakkumnatha Temple gates. Later,

Maharaja of Cochin The Kingdom of Cochin, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It commenced at the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until 1949, when monarchy wa ...

Rama Varma Sakthan Thampuran Rama Varma Kunji pillai Thampuran (1751–1805), or Rama Varma IX, popularly known as Sakthan Thampuran (''Sakthan'' meaning powerful), was the ruler of the Kingdom of Cochin. The current southern Indian city of Kochi was part of the erstwhile ...

cleared the Thekkinkadu Maidan despite the resistance of Brahmin priests and other orthodox section of people. Till 1970, there were no teaks in the Maidan. In the 1970s Cochin Devaswom Board planted some teaks trees. Till 1928, the Thekkinkadu Maidan was with the Sanitary Board. In 1928 it was handed over to Thrissur Municipality when it was formed. In 1934, Diwan Paruvakad Narayanan Nair gave the Maidan to Cochin Devaswom Board. The only condition for the transfer was that any organisation can organise meeting or festival without any problem.

Structure

The Thekkinkadu Maidan is in area and is encircled by

Swaraj Round, Thrissur Swaraj Round or Thrissur Round is the local name for a circular road which is about 2 km long in the centre of the city of Thrissur in Kerala, India, surrounding the hillock called the Thekkinkadu Maidan which seats the Vadakkumnathan Temple. Sw ...

to all sides. It houses

Vadakkunnathan Temple Vadakkumnathan Temple is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva at city of Thrissur, of Kerala state in India. This temple is a classical example of the architectural style of Kerala and has one monumental tower on each of the four sides ...

, Nehru Park, Thrissur,

Kerala Water Authority Kerala Water Authority is an autonomous authority established for the development and regulation of water supply and waste water collection and disposal in the state of Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. I ...

office and water storage tanks and seven wells. The whole of the city branches from Thekkinkadu Maidan through nine roads, including most of the important roads like the M.G road and the M.O road. These roads further form junctions to make the spread of the city a circular one.

Activities

A wide range of activities are visible. There are many card players and chess players in the maidan in the evening. Political debates also take place here every day. ''Students Corner'', ''Labour Corner'' and ''Nehru Mandapam'' are the famous spots where historical events had taken place. Famous people like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru,

C. Achutha Menon Chelat Achutha Menon (13 January 1913 – 16 August 1991) was the Chief Minister of Kerala state for two terms. The first term was from 1 November 1969 to 1 August 1970 and the second 4 October 1970 to 25 March 1977. He was instrumental in ...

and

E. M. S. Namboodiripad Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad (13 June 1909 – 19 March 1998), popularly known as EMS, was an Indian communist politician and theorist, who served as the first Chief Minister of Kerala in 1957–1959 and then again in 1967–1969. A ...

have given speeches in the ''Students Corner''. Joseph Vadakkan, a politically active priest held the controversial Holy Mass in the maidan, which led to suspension from the church. It is a major spot for gatherings and festivals in the district, including the Pooram festival and the

Thrissur Motor Show The Thrissur Motor Show is South India’s largest student organized motor show held annually in Thrissur city, Kerala, India. The show is an exhibition of luxury, vintage and modified cars and motor bikes . The expo is organized at Thekk ...

(organised by students of

Government Engineering College, Thrissur The Government Engineering College Thrissur (GEC-T) is a public engineering and research institute located in Thrissur, Kerala, India. During its establishment in 1957, it was the second-oldest public engineering institute to be established in ...

). ''Nehru Mandapam'' was named after India's first

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...

Jawaharlal Nehru when he visited Thrissur city in 1952, and made a speech in Thekkinkadu Maidan. In 1982,

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (; 25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian politician who served three terms as the 10th prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months fr ...

, another

also gave a speech in Thekkinkadu Maidan.

Prime Ministers of India who visited Thekkinkadu Maidan

* Jawaharlal Nehru *

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...

* Narendra Modi Thekkinkadu Maidan and mo road

References

External links

{{Tourist attractions in Thrissur Maidans in India Geography of Thrissur Suburbs of Thrissur city Tourist attractions in Thrissur