THRISSUR: As the festival season in Kerala nears its peak, Thechikottukavu Ramachandran, once considered the tallest elephant in Asia, is back in the news. The celebrity tusker has been booked for a parade with a record bid of Rs 6.75 lakh. The bidding war, involving 46 festival committees, was won by Punchiri, which is part of the Chavakkad Viswanatha temple festival. This is the high amount offered for parading a single elephant.
Ramachandran’s enormous frame and charm won him many fans. The tusker, which was a regular at local festivals in Thrissur, shot to fame after it started attending the ceremony for the opening of the Thekke Gopura Nada, heralding the Thrissur Pooram. Despite his popularity, the tusker is considered a killer, having taken the lives of 13 people. The last incident involving Ramachandran came in 2019, during a housewarming ceremony. Two people died while several others were injured.
A report by veterinary surgeons following the incident found Ramachandran to be blind in one eye, which makes him more prone to get agitated in a crowded and loud environment. Despite the report, Ramachandran was paraded at the Thrissur Pooram that same year, albeit with restrictions.
According to K Mahesh Menon of the Kerala Elephant Owners’ Federation, “Guruvayur Padmanabhan was one elephant that received big bids for a parade. Festival committees used to offer Rs 2,22,222 for Padmanabhan, who was considered an incarnation of Sree Gurvayoorappan. This year, Guruvayur Devaswom’s Indrasen was offered Rs 2,72,727 by Vadakurumbakkavu festival committee, which was thus far the highest bid for an elephant.” The top bid for Guruvayur Valiya Kesavan, another famous elephant, was Rs 2,32,000.
While elephant lovers are happy with Ramachandran’s return to the festival scene, animal rights activists have come out against parading a partially blind elephant. As per sources, the Thechikottukavu temple devaswom had approached the High Court. The court verdict had urged an elephant monitoring committee to review the condition of the elephant before taking an appropriate decision.