(IN) Another absurd, dangerous and cruel prank

March 29, 2009

*Hundreds witness ‘Anavalpidi’ *

**

Staff Reporter

— PHOTO C. SURESH KUMAR.

*Mammoth thrill: The ‘anavalpidi’ ritual in progress at the Umayanallur Sree

Balasubramanya Swamy Temple, near Kollam, on Saturday. *

KOLLAM: Watched by hundreds of devotees and admirers, including a good

number of foreign tourists, the ‘Anavalpidi’ (catching the elephant’s tail)

ritual was held at the Umayanallur Sree Balasubramanya Swamy Temple

precincts here on Saturday morning.

The ritual is held on the sixth day of the annual festival of the temple

during the Malayalam month of Meenam.

After a bath, the tusker is brought to the ‘anathottil’ of the temple. This

is an occasion when the tusker is free from fetters.

After prayers by 11.45 a.m., the tusker makes obeisance to the presiding

deity and races in a straight line through the temple precincts for about 50

metres.

A crowd of devotees run after it desperately attempting to catch the

elephant’s tail.

As though it is aware about it, the tusker lifts its tail as high as

possible at intervals. The event gives an impression that the tusker is

being chased by the crowd.

Symbolic

In the process, many succeed in catching and pulling the elephant’s tail.

The ritual is a symbolic gesture of the childhood pranks between Lord

Ganesha and Lord Subramanyan.

Temple committee president K. Vijayakumar said there had been no record of

tusker running amok during the ritual.

The tusker that took part in this year’s ritual was Gajaraja Ratnam

Thrikadavur Sivaraju.

**

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