More Elephants

I love elephant stories. The idea of a one-month Ayurvedic health camp for Tamil Nadu elephants seemed a like a nice idea; but it looks as though someone had a brainstorm without completely working out what was involved:

Preparing elephants, a jumbo task


Maduravalli, Koodal Azhagar temple elephant in Madurai,
being trained to climb steps as part of a rehearsal for transportation
to the Mudumalai sanctuary for a health camp. — Photo: S. James

MADURAI NOV.4. With hardly 12 days left for the beginning of a health camp for elephants, personnel of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department and mahouts are yet to make a headway in finding suitable vehicles to ensure their safe transportation to the Mudumalai sanctuary, about 400 km from here...

Of the five elephants, Angayarkanni and Parvathi are under the care of the Meenakshi temple. The other three belong to the Subramanyaswami temple at Tirupparankunram, the Koodal Alagar temple here and the Sundararajaperumal temple at Alagarkovil.

The Government also asked private owners of four elephants in the city to send their pachyderms to the camp. They were also conducting rehearsals, near the integrated bus stand, for the elephants to board and alight from trucks without hitch...

Even as the HR and CE personnel have been consulting experts to finalise vehicles, to be driven by experienced drivers, the mahouts, have started `training' the elephants, leading them along the steps around `prakarams' in some of the temples. The intention is to help the elephants get into the trucks without much difficulty or strain.

The `formal rehearsal' using trucks is slated for tomorrow. Veterinary doctors attending on the elephants have advised temple authorities to take all precautions right from carrying first-aid kits in vehicles. Soft bamboo sticks and sponge lining should be provided so that the elephants will not suffer jolt during the journey along hilly terrain...

The private owners have another predicament: they do not know who will bear the transportation charges, which may run to Rs.16,000 up and down. Some of them are also worried about the timing of the camp. For, during the coming month they will not be able to earn a sizable income sending their animals to shrines which do not have elephants.