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| Elephant 'Ramachandran' at Thrissur Pooram Google News - Overview |
In the state of Kerala, elephants are closely associated with the Hindu temples and the seasonal temple festivals. In Puja rituals, the elephants are used to carry the procession idol (Utchavar) around the temple. Even the other religious faiths take interest in the elephants for their participation in their religious activities. Considered as divine, the pachyderms form an integral part of the temple and this cultural tradition has been in vogue for centuries in Kerala. As for the temples, maintaining them and keeping them in good health is a tough task because not only does it require money and space but also trained Mahouts and Vets to take care of them periodically. The case of elephant Thechikkottukavu Ramachandran, a temple elephant is an interesting one.
Captive elephant Thechikkottukavu Ramachandran (born 1964), as he is called, has a unique distinction. He is the tallest captive elephant in India, and the second tallest in Asia, behind Nadungamuwe Raja, a tusker in Sri Lanka(?). Equally disturbing is the fact that he is one of the captive violent elephants in India. The paradox is in spite of his notoriety and ill-repute, a large number of Keralites enjoy his presence in the famous temple festivals. Owned and managed by Thechikottukavu devasom, a temple in Kerala, he has a huge gathering of fans across Kerala much to the envy of some Malayalam matinee idols and is affectionately called ''Raman''.
During his life time never had Raman proved that he was a good tusker, calm and composed. On several occasions, he went amok and had killed a record number of 14 people and injured hundreds and caused the death of three other elephants. He is equally well-known across Kerala for his rage and unprovoked rampage that would result in civil damages and human lives. Consequently, he got a bad name and was branded as the most dangerous captive elephant in the state. During annual Thrissur Pooram festivals Raman, who is partly blind, pays a key role in the Villambaram event. On account of his unexpected violent and erratic behavior, the government authorities, taking the safety of public into account, put a ban on his participation in fests on many occasions. This year, for the Pooram festival, he was finally allowed to take part in the 11th hour. Brought to Kerala from Bihar in 1982 it was the Thechikottukavu Devaswom, which, in 1984, purchased Ramachandran to use him for divine services to God. Unfortunately, during a short span of 6 years between 1984 and
During his life time never had Raman proved that he was a good tusker, calm and composed. On several occasions, he went amok and had killed a record number of 14 people and injured hundreds and caused the death of three other elephants. He is equally well-known across Kerala for his rage and unprovoked rampage that would result in civil damages and human lives. Consequently, he got a bad name and was branded as the most dangerous captive elephant in the state. During annual Thrissur Pooram festivals Raman, who is partly blind, pays a key role in the Villambaram event. On account of his unexpected violent and erratic behavior, the government authorities, taking the safety of public into account, put a ban on his participation in fests on many occasions. This year, for the Pooram festival, he was finally allowed to take part in the 11th hour. Brought to Kerala from Bihar in 1982 it was the Thechikottukavu Devaswom, which, in 1984, purchased Ramachandran to use him for divine services to God. Unfortunately, during a short span of 6 years between 1984 and
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| Angry elephant 123rf.com |
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| clipart.com |
1989, Ramachandran was never a subdued pachyderm, rather he proved his male superiority and aggressive nature by way of killing five mahouts hired by the Devaswom board to care for him. In the year 2009, while on temple duty at Kattakampal Bhagavathy temple fest in Thrissur, he, all of a sudden, he ran beserk (may be due to musth?) and caused havoc, causing the people running helter shelter. His aggression was in full bloom, resulting in the death of a 12-year-old boy and injuries to hundreds of people. It is not undestood why the government officials allowed the rogue elephant to do the duty at temple fest as he had never shown any sign of improvement in his behavior before the public and the threats to public safety. In the same year, a woman fell a victim to his sudden violent outburst during the fest at Eranakulathappan Temple in Ernakulam. Elephant Raman's killing spree did not stop here, rather, it continued without any permanent break. In 2013, the tusker caused the death of three women during the Thaipooyam at Perumbavoor. In 2019 also, the inherent violent nature in him came to the fore. This time he trampled two people to death during a house-warming ceremony near Thrissur.
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| CartoonStock |
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| Thechikottukavu Ramachandran Indiatimes.com |
Despite his dangerous and violent behavior in public places and the lurking infamy he earned, elephant Ramachandran has lots of fans. It is a paradox that can not be explained. When the news was conveyed about his doubtful participation in the 2019 Pooram festival, disappointment was largely writ on scores of people who expected Ramachandran would be on his best behavior this time and make the Pooram festival a memorable one. Citing erratic and violent behaviour, the district authorities in February this year, had imposed a stringent ban on the elephant, Thechikottukavu Ramachandran, after he trampled upon two people during a recent event. That the tusker has reportedly killed 14 people in the last thirty years is a sad commentary on his unpredictable temperament. The veterinarians, who conducted a series of medical tests which Ramachandran cleared, were quite satisfied and gave him a clean chit for his participation in the temple festival, 2019. The team cleared him as "fit for all activities". Upon through scrutiny, the District Collector allowed Raman to participate in the festival. The condition was that four people must escort the animal and barricades should be constructed on a 10-metre radius to prevent people from getting closer to the jumbo.
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| Villambaram event. elephant Ramachandran at this ritual since 2014..ndtv.com |
The 54 -year old tusker, Thechikottukavu Ramachandran, was brought to the Vadakkumnathan temple here for this year's poorum festival in a lorry at around 10.30 a.m. He symbolically pushed open the southern entrance of the temple, signalling the start of the festivities as part of Villambaram event. The most keenly-watched event during the festival is the parading of more than 50 elephants. (Aanaottam) Ramachandran was not a participant in that event.
Countless devotees were happy when Kerala's famed, but violent one-eyed elephant waded through the corridor of the famed Vadakkumnathan temple in Thrissur on Sunday. Though the officials allowed the elephant's participation just for an hour, Raman stayed on for up to two hours, causing no trouble to the people. As he is ageing, perhaps, he might have thought it is time for him to take it easy and be on his best behavior till the rest of his life!! Thrissur Pooram is an annual Hindu temple festival held in Kerala. This year, it was held on May 13 and 14. The festival that dates back to the 18th century, was started by none other than Sakthan Thampuran himself, the Maharajah of the erstwhile Kochi state.
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The fans of Ramachandran are of the opinion that the temperament of the partially blind old tusker, has become aggressive and violent due to the torture and cruelty caused by humans during training and later on duty. And Ramachandran is not the only one to endure torture. According to information available with animal rights activists, the number of elephants in the state has come down from 3000 to around 300 in the last five years. Up to 17 elephants have died this year alone, and 57 had died last year. The average life expectancy of an elephant is 80 years. Those died in 2018 were less than 50 years old. Reason: mostly due to torture by trainers and some may be due to diseases. According to Sreedevi S Kartha, an animal rights activist with People for Animals (PFA). “For
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| Elephant Ramachandran english.manoramaonline.com |
instance, one elephant died after he was constipated for 61 days. One elephant named Karnan was paraded forty times in sixty days in the just-concluded festival season.” Temple elephants should be given long rest between festivals. Since they do a divine job for us, besides giving us the needed entertainment, it is the responsibility of the owners (temple boards) to keep them in pink and cheereful.
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