KOCHI: Garudan thookkam is performed during Arayankavu Pooram, a festival meant not for the elite, but for the masses, a festival of belief celebrated by villagers who dedicate everything to their ...

S Durga begins with the macabre rite of Garudan Thookkam — devotees strung mid-air by metal hooks, men zoned out in the heady blend of pain and piety. More of a frame of reference, it shows how ...

A nine-month-old boy sustained injuries after accidentally falling to the ground during a Garudan Thookkam ritual at the Ezhamkulam Devi temple, near Adoor. The baby sustained injuries on his hand ...