a
majestic tusker of Guruvayur
In God’s own
country – there are temples and temple elephants. The Thiruvambady Temple and Thrissur Pooram
festival are today almost synonymous to the general public. The latter is the climax to the sustained round
the year activities of divine worship aimed at providing a spiritual avenue for
peace, tranquility and mental uplift of thousands of devotees far and near. The
temple is located 1 km north of the Vadakkunnathan Temple, minutes from
Thrissur Railway Station and Bus stand.
The main deity at
Thiruvambady is Unnikrishna (Lord Krishna in infant form). Goddess Bhagavathy
is consecrated in a shrine just on the left of Lord Krishna and worshipped with
equal ardour. The legend of the Temple has it that the idol of Krishna, now
worshipped here, was originally the Parthasarathy idol in a temple at
Edakkalathur, a sleepy hamlet, about 15km from Thrissur.
The Thiruvambady
Devaswom is known for the care it takes in the case of the elephants it owns
and also those hired by them for festivals. It was in 1966, that the temple got
its first elephant. It was a 20 nailed tusker, bought using devotees’
contributions; it was named Govindankutty. At present, the temple owns 6
elephants, 5 tuskers & one she- elephant.
Of them Tiruvambady Ramakrishnan,
a majestic tusker, is in news !
Animal activists
have complained that it is ailing and
has been forced to carry out a ritual at the temple recently. It is another news altogether that the Animal
Welfare Board of India had a year ago recommended euthanasia for the elephant.
A press release from the Thiruvambadi
Devawom said elephant Ramabhadran, which has been undergoing treatment for foot
disease, visited the temple as part of evaluation of the result of its
treatment, as recommended by the doctors.
The care and love
of the locals for the temples it a different frenzy and cannot be understood by
outsiders, just as we Triplicanites loved our dear Alwar elephant. Here is another interesting news – that of specially
designed jumbo jackets being made for elephants at a sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh
to protect them from the bitter winter conditions which continue to grip
northern India. At the outset, it may sound silly – will not the animals have
the wherewithal to protect against nature ? – does it require human to provide
cover – but, life is always different.
With temperatures
dipping as low as three degrees centigrade at night early last month, the team
at Wildlife SOS set about creating special coats to keep the rescued animals
warm. It comes weeks after ladies in a village near the Elephant Conservation
and Care Centre in Mathura donated colourful knitted jumpers for the giant
mammals, which they have been working on since last year.
Daily Mail reports
that Asha, who was rescued after 45 years in a life of misery, was the first to
try out her special khaki-coloured outerwear. Their handiwork, which took
months to complete, was in response to an appeal from staff at the centre,
where temperatures at night can plunge close to freezing point – too cold even
for an elephant’s thick hide. The
jumpers were giving warmth to the jumbos in the winter. The elephants now have stylish tailor made jackets
to keep them snug as well, as temperatures remain well below 10 degrees
centigrade at night. The jacket, which comes with a colourful patterned lining,
is first slipped over her head before being pulled down her body and then
fastened with straps passed under her belly.
Wild elephants are
under threat across the world. The ivory trade fuels illegal hunting and
smuggling that kills an estimated 30,000 elephants a year. Many of them are exported to China, and in
Dec - China announced a total ban of the
trade and processing of ivory, to be in effect by the end of 2017.
Interesting !
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
4th Feb 2017.
