54 jumbos relish Anayoottu' feast

Thrissur: The annual ‘anayoottu’ (fest for elephants) ceremony was held at Vadakumnathan temple on Monday morning in which  54 pachyderms from across the state participated. The event is held annually to please Lord Ganapathy by providing delicious food to the  elephants and by holding ‘Ashtta Dravya Maha Ganapathy homam.’ The event,  held  on the first day of the month of ‘Karkidakam,’  is one of the biggest rituals, where elephants are lined up to give them a grand feast and take care of  their medical needs.

The elephants were taken inside the temple compound through the western Gopuram (entrance tower) and taken out through the east Gopuram. A large number of devotees and elephant buffs thronged the temple  to see the feast containing prasadam and variety of fruits and vegetables. “Anayoottu is being conducted for the past 35 years. In 1982, many elephants which were sent to New Delhi for Asian Games developed health issues and some of them even died. It was then decided to conduct the  ritual to please  Lord Ganapathy. Starting with just seven elephants, the ritual  has now become a mega event,”  Mr T.R. Hariharan, convener, temple welfare committee, said.

Apart from the prasadam of homam, elephants are fed rice, ghee and turmeric powder and various varieties of vegetables on the day. About 10,000 coconuts, 2,500 kg of jaggery, 1,500 kg of aval (beaten rice), 500 kg of malar (puffed rice), 500 kg of ghee and  sugarcane were used to make prasadam.  Besides, eight varieties of fruits were also given to the elephants.