THRISSUR: Thiruvambady Kuttisankaran, a tusker popular for its large ears, died on Thursday. With Thrissur Pooram set for May 10, the death of Kuttinsankaran has come as a sad moment for elephant lovers and festival fans in the state. Kuttisankaran, aged about 68 years, died due to age-related ailments. The tusker was owned by Aana Davis, a native of Thrissur, who died some five years back.
For people in Thrissur, Davis Chittilappily, fondly called Aana Davis (Aana meaning elephant in Malayalam), was a prominent person who played an important role in elephant parades of Thrissur Pooram. To organize a huge festival like Thrissur Pooram, ensuring the availability of perfect elephants was definitely a big task and Aana Davis always did it effortlessly for the Thiruvambady faction. For his love of the Thiruvambady temple, he named his own elephant Kuttisankaran as Thiruvambady Kuttisankaran.
Kuttisankaran was a familiar sight at elephant parades during the major temple festivals in Thrissur and neighbouring districts. He carried the idol of Thiruvambady Bhagavathy for the pooram ceremonies, especially for the famed 'Kudamattam' or the exchange of parasols.
After Davis' death five years back, the maintenance of Kuttisankaran became an impossible task for his family. Though the ownership rights of the elephant were transferred to his wife Omana, the financial costs of maintaining the elephant were too much to handle for the family. Omana passed the ownership rights to the Forest Department. Kuttisankaran fell ill in between and treatment costs were also high. Despite the fact that the forest department issued a letter taking Kuttisankaran into their ownership, Omana and her family continued the financial support for the treatment of Kuttisankaran.
Officials said the tusker died due to age-related ailments. The elephant had severe skin rashes and was in a bad condition at the time of its death. Criticism has been pouring from all corners as the forest department failed to take care of the elephant despite issuing a letter confirming its adoption.
With the death of Kuttisankaran, the number of captive elephants in the state came down to 443. This year six captive elephants died.