Thrissur's Vadakkumnathan temple gears up for the grand annual elephant feeding fest

More than 25,000 elephant lovers are expected to arrive at the famed Vadakkmunathan temple on July 17 to see the mystic beauty of the jumbos for the annual 'anayoottu' (elephant feeding) festival. Anayoottu is one of the most important events held on the first day of the Malayalam month of Karkidakam.

More than 50 jumbos will line up in the temple's front yard to take part in anayoottu. The rituals will begin at 9.30 am. Elected representatives, Dewaswom officers and eminent personalities will be present to feed the elephants on the special occasion. 

Barricades have been erected to control the crowds, and more than 200 police personnel will be deployed in the area. Ernakulam Shivakumar, Paramekkavu Kalidasan, Pambadi Sundaran, Puthupally Sadhu, Puthupally Keshavan and Bastain Vinayasundar are some of the ‘celebrity elephants' that would arrive for the anayoottu. They will be joined by other elephants owned by the Guruvayoor Dewaswom as well as a few female elephants. Last year, 63 elephants, including 9 females, came for the anayoottu. 

The rituals
The rituals begin with a Maha Ganapathy homam at 5 am. 1,0008 coconuts, 2,000 kg of flattened rice, 2,000 kg of jaggery, 350 kg of puffed rice, and 60 kg of sesame seeds will be used to make the special feed for the elephants. Each elephant will be given 10 balls of rice, and 500 kg of rice will be boiled for this. These rice balls are prepared with Ashtachoornam and special herbs. Apples, grapes, sugarcane, bananas, watermelon and cucumbers would also be given to the elephants. Each elephant will get ten palm fronds as well. 2000 kg of grass has been brought to the temple for the elephants. 

Safety first
City police commissioner Nakul R Deshmukh said that extensive safety precautions and protocols have been arranged at the temple, the event's venue Thekkinkadu ground and nearby places as part of the anayoottu. An anti-sabotage team, medical personnel, fire force and elephant squad, as well as DANSAF (District Anti-Narcotics Special Action Force) teams to prevent criminal activities, would be deployed in the areas.

Visitors have been advised to strictly follow the traffic instructions given by the authorities. Vehicles should be parked only in the designated parking spots. The temple premises and the Thekkinkadu ground have been declared drone red zones, and flying drones is strictly banned in these areas. The commissioner said that strict actions would be taken against those who break the rules. 

Rejuvenation therapy
The one-month-long ayurvedic rejuvenation therapy for the elephants owned by the Cochin Dewaswom Board begins on July 18. Dewaswom Board president K Raveendran will inaugurate the therapy at 3 pm on the premises of the Vadakkmunathan temple by feeding Ernakulam Shivakumar the first ball of medicinal herbs. 

Rice balls mixed with various herbs and medicines, chyavaprasam, rice, ashtachoornam, turmeric powder, salt, syrups and tablets are given to the elephants as part of the rejuvenation therapy. The therapy sessions would be overseen by Dewaswom Board elephant consultant Dr PB Giridas.