Thekkinkadu Maidanam is situated in the middle of

Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...

city of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

state in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. This hillock which seats the

Vadakkumnathan 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 ...

, is an open ground in the centre of the

city which is under the custody of the

Cochin Devaswom Board Cochin Devaswom Board is a socio-religious trust appointed by the Kerala Government to look after Hindu temples in central Kerala consisting of Ernakulam District, Thrissur District and Palakkad District. It is headquartered in Round north, Thr ...

(CDB). It hosts the spectacular cultural festival

Thrissur Pooram The Thrissur ''Pooram'' is an annual Hindu temple festival held in Thrissur, Kerala, India. It is held at the Vadakkunnathan (Shiva) Temple in Thrissur every year on the ''Pooram'' (pronounced ) day—the day when the moon rises with the ''P ...

, which is considered the ''Mother of all Poorams 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

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 w ...

, Rama Varma Sakthan Thampuran cleared the Thekkinkadu Maidan despite the resistance of

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

priests and other orthodox section of people. Till 1970, there were no teaks in the Maidan. In the 1970s

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

. 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 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 side ...

Nehru Park, Thrissur Nehru Park, Thrissur, is a children’s park named after first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru and is owned by Thrissur Municipal Corporation in Thrissur City of Kerala, India. The park also have aquarium (open 1500 – 2000 hours). ...

, Kerala Water Authority 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 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

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 have given speeches in the ''Students Corner''.

Joseph Vadakkan Fr. Joseph Vadakkan (1 October 1919 – 28 December 2002) was a Christian activist priest of Kerala in India, and the founder of the political party known as Karshaka Thozhilali Party (KTP). Vadakkan organised many agitations and took part i ...

, a politically active priest held the controversial

Holy Mass The Mass is the central liturgical service of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, in which bread and wine are consecrated and become the body and blood of Christ. As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass, "the same Christ ...

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 Thekkinkadu ...

(organised by students of Government Engineering College, Thrissur). ''Nehru Mandapam'' was named after

'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 ...

when he visited

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

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 Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

References

External links

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