The traditional Elephant Pongal festival at Topslip, Pollachi, saw a grand celebration, attracting numerous tourists and highlighting the respect for elephants.
Coimbatore: On January 16, the Elephant Pongal festival was celebrated with great enthusiasm at the Topslip elephant camp, located in the Western Ghats under the Anaimalai Tiger Reserve's Ulanthy Forest Range. The camp currently cares for 26 domesticated elephants.
The festival, celebrated annually on Mattu Pongal day, is a way to express gratitude to the elephants that assist in forest and forestry department tasks. This year's event at Topslip's Kozhikamuthi elephant camp featured elephants being bathed, decorated with dots (pottu), and adorned with garlands. The elephants also paid their respects to the local deity, Lord Vinayaka, by kneeling and raising their trunks.
Following the traditional rituals, the local hill people cooked Pongal in clay pots and offered it to the Sun God. The elephants were then treated to their favorite foods, including sugarcane, bananas, and a special diet of horse gram, ragi, and rice.
Tourists from various districts of Tamil Nadu participated in the event, expressing their joy and novelty in experiencing Elephant Pongal in the forest setting. They highlighted that witnessing over 26 elephants in one place added to their excitement.
Statement from Kanggothri, Tiruppur.
The festival, celebrated annually on Mattu Pongal day, is a way to express gratitude to the elephants that assist in forest and forestry department tasks. This year's event at Topslip's Kozhikamuthi elephant camp featured elephants being bathed, decorated with dots (pottu), and adorned with garlands. The elephants also paid their respects to the local deity, Lord Vinayaka, by kneeling and raising their trunks.
Following the traditional rituals, the local hill people cooked Pongal in clay pots and offered it to the Sun God. The elephants were then treated to their favorite foods, including sugarcane, bananas, and a special diet of horse gram, ragi, and rice.
Tourists from various districts of Tamil Nadu participated in the event, expressing their joy and novelty in experiencing Elephant Pongal in the forest setting. They highlighted that witnessing over 26 elephants in one place added to their excitement.
Statement from Kanggothri, Tiruppur.