Pulikali 2016

They come in hundreds wearing bright paints all over their body, dance through the streets and entertain the thousands watching from either side of the road. Pulikali, a folk dance form, has been an integral part of the Onam celebrations in the Thrissur district of Kerala for several years. Swaraj Round in Thrissur is the venue of this unique celebration that involves hundreds of two-legged ‘tigers’ dancing to the beats of percussion instruments.

Pulikali – Hundreds of tigers dance through the Swaraj Round on the occasion of Onam

While some performers wear the true colors of tigers, others get various other colours and patterns painted on their body. Some also get lion faces painted on their belly. It takes about four hours to apply the paints. Removing the paint is even more difficult. Pulikali has a simple theme. The tigers are playing hide-and-seek with a gun wielding hunter. The event attracts thousands of people to Thrissur.

Thrissur Corporation is also organizing an exhibition of the materials used for Pulikali. Pulipooram, as it is called, will be held on September 16 and 17 at the Banerji Club Campus.

This year the program will see the participation of ten teams. Each team will have 35-55 members. They will enter Swaraj Round from six different routes. Each team is required to wind up their performance within the time allotted to them.

The best team will get a cash price of Rs. 35,000. In addition, to this the best disciplined team with get Rs. 10,000.

When: September 17, 2016

Where: Swaraj Round, Thrissur

Getting there:

Nearest railway station: Thrissur. Swaraj Round is only about a kilometer from the station.

Nearest airport: Cochin International Airport, about 58 km from Thrissur