The afternoon had settled into a familiar lull in Mundathikode in Thrissur. Workers, easing out of their lunch break, were back at their units, racing against time to prepare fireworks for the upcoming Thrissur Pooram.

Under the supervision of Mundathikode Satheesh—who had led the Thiruvambady Devaswom’s fireworks preparations for over 13 years—the unit at the Kuttamkulam fields was a hive of quiet, focussed activity.