Soon after landing in Calicut, my mother whisked me away to Guruvayoor. Visiting the temple town after seven years, travelling by auto, train and bus, was a memorable experience. The highlight was the hour spent sitting just a meter away from a tusker – Monsieur Peethambaran. My daughters even managed to touch and stroke his trunk.
The Guruvayur Temple manages close to sixty elephants and all of them have an impressive following on social media. Instagram pages, Facebook pages and YouTube Channels for Malayali elephants are all normal here.
This YouTube video of Peethambaran ambling through the city has racked up 5000 views. Little wonder why the treatment of elephants and their use in temple rituals is a politically sensitive issue in the state and evokes myriad emotions. The recent order of the High Court on the issue led to the Supreme Court passing a stay too.
Aanakotta, the elephant sanctuary is also a must visit.
Before leaving, we also watched a bit of Krishnanattam – the temple art form dedicated to Krishna’s life and performed as an offering after the sanctum closes in the night and goes on well past midnight. Eight plays are performed on consecutive nights and are in fact offerings of devotees. The mnemonic “a-ka-ra-ka-swa-bha-vi-swa” helps to recollect the names.
- Avatharam for a birth of a child.
- Kaliyamardhanam to remove the effect of poison.
- Rasakreeda well being of unmarried girls, to end disputes between couples.
- Kamsavaddham to remove enemies.
- Swayamvaram for a happy matrimony.
- Bana yuddham to remove impoverishment, for good farm production.
- Vividha vadham to eliminate poverty and increase yield from farms.
- Swargarohanam for peace of a departed soul.
Cover Image Source; Gajarajanmar Facebook page which has 250k followers!!
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