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‘No’ to elephant for festival at Alappuzha templeR Ayyappan -
Source Expressbuzz.com
First Published : 13 Jan 2009 11:55:00 PM IST
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Finally, it was left to a goddess to speak up for the beleaguered elephant.
Bhadra, the presiding deity of Kanichukulangara Devi Temple, when an ‘ashtamangalyaprasnam’ was conducted to know her mind, said henceforth her idol would be mounted, not on the back of a hapless elephant, but on the shoulders of men who had undergone fasting and penance for 40 days.
Thus, at a time when temple festivals cannot do without elephants, the Kanichukulangara Temple in Alappuzha district has become the first in the State to discontinue the use of elephants.
On January 9, when the ‘parayeduppu’ procession was flagged off from the temple, the ‘thidambu’, for the first time in over half-a-century, was taken on a teakwood palanquin carried on the shoulders of four youths.
“The Devi was rightly angry. Taking the elephant for the ‘parayeduppu’ along highly-populated, congested areas is very risky. It is stressful for the elephant. The poor thing has to be on the road from early morning to long after midnight,” said Vellappally Natesan, president of the Kanichukulangara Devi Temple governing body.
“Not only this, the ‘thidambu’, at times, comes into contact with the electric lines on top.” A palanquin, Vellappally said, is highly secure. “It consumes much less space, there is no need to fear the electric lines, and is faster. And the procession can visit any number of houses without a prick of conscience,” he said. Until last year, an elephant was made to cover between 200-300 houses a day. The palanquin, made of teakwood, was constructed at a cost of Rs two lakh.
Two teams, of four youths each, have been selected to carry the palanquin.
“The selected ones should shun non-vegetarian food and liquor for 40 days. During this time, they will wear clothes provided by the temple,” Vellappally said.
Ana Premi Sanghom general secretary K. Venkitachalam said that the Kanichukulangara example could be replicated in other temples. “It reduces the sufferings of elephants. But if more temples follow suit, the gene
pool of elephants could be strengthened,” he said.
According to Venkitachalam, most of the elephants used for ‘parayeduppu’ by temples are below the age of 15.
“Walking all the day suffering the heat along congested roads and trampling on sharp objects, the animal is badly weakened. By the time the festival is over, they fall ill and gradually die,” he said.
Of the total 696 captive elephants in the State, only 112 elephants are aged below 15 years.
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