Tusker Rejuvenation @ 30

It is time for 30 days Monsoon Rejuvenation for the elephants at Anakotta @ Guruvayur the largest elephant sanctuary in India 

Introduction

What’s the closest you’ve ever gotten to an elephant? Most likely, it’s at least a few hundred yards, whether it is on safari, at the zoo, or at a circus. But there is a place where you can stand mere steps away from these majestic animals.

Punnthur Elephant Sanctuary (Guruvayur Anakotta)

Punnathur Kotta

Punnathur elephant sanctuary is the largest elephant sanctuary in India. It provides shelter to more than 59 elephants at a time. The punnathur elephant sanctuary is also known as Punnathur Kotta (Fort) or Anthavalam in Kerala. This sanctuary is owned and maintained by Guruvayur Sreekrishna temple Dewaswam. The most of the elephants in the Punnathur Kotta are ritual offerings made by the devotees of lord Guruvayurappa. These offerings are carried out at different points of time. The punnathur kotta is spread upto 15 acres of land for providing a good atmosphere for the elephants. When punnathur Kotta was established years ago, the land was not so vegetative. But after years, now this land is full of trees in order to provide the shadows for the elephants. The growth of Punnathur Kotta or Anathavalam was a combined effort of both Guruvayur devaswam and people of that village. 

The “Monsoon Rejuvenation” programme of Jumbos at Anakotta started yesterday. This article will give you a comprehensible idea on rejuvenation programme for the elephant.

The “Monsoon Rejuvenation”

The elephants of Guruvayoor temple are among the most blessed creatures on earth. Come monsoon and they are pampered with a 30-day rejuvenation therapy, known as ‘sukhachikilsa’, which involves body wraps, special diet and herbal tonics. The elephants will be treated with sumptuous and highly nutritious food, laced with Ayurvedic and allopathic restorative medicines. The feast would be accompanied by an elaborate bath and message therapy. According to experts in elephant care, rainy season is the best time for rejuvenation treatment. The therapy is done during the Malayalam month of ‘Karkidakam' at the peak of monsoon. Elephants, barring 17 in ‘musth', will receive the therapy. The special diet includes rice, green gram, horse gram, ‘chyavanaprasam', ‘ashtachoornam', mineral mixture, turmeric powder, vitamin tonics, and salt.

The daily restorative therapy for the elephants, barring those in `musth’, starts with an elaborate and well-massaged bath in the ponds on the sprawling `aanakotta’ premises. They are then served with a sumptuous feast comprising rice, gram, digestive tonics like Ashtachurnam, mineral mixture, salt and other nutritional supplements. Allopathic medical supplements like Maltvirons are also given to the elephants daily during the `sukhachikitsa’.

The tuskers are divided into three categories, depending on their body weight, to calculate the amount of food they need. The elephants weighing 4,000 kg and above are included in ‘A’ category, those weighing 3,000 kg to 4,000 kg in the ‘B’ category and the others in the ‘C’ class.

The therapy is conducted under the supervision of veterinary doctors and elephant experts who ensure that the rejuvenation process is conducted scientifically. According to them, the elephants show considerable increase in body weight by about 150 kg to 250 kg after the therapy. There is also a positive change in the behaviour of the elephants after the therapy.

The Devaswom started the restoration therapy for elephants in a small way back in 1982, later it turned into a systematic and major annual programme toning up the health of the captive elephants. Many elephants of Guruvayoor like Guruvayoor Padmanabhan and Guruvayoor Kesavan have become legends in their own lifetime. Famous for their mammoth physique,intelligence and devotion to the Lord, they still enthrall the hearts of the elephant lovers worldwide. In view of the rising number of elephants at “Aanakotta” and the high cost of their maintenance, the Devaswom has discontinued elephant offering at the temple. Instead, the devotees who wish to make elephant offering are allowed to remit the cost of the elephant at the Devaswom.

History of Punnathurkotta

It is very interesting to note the history of  Punnathurkotta as per Wikipedia:

   

Punnathurkotta is a fort and former palace located in Kottapadi, about 2 km from the Guruvayoor Sree Krishna Temple, in Thrissur District of Kerala State in South India.

Punnathurkotta was once the palace of a local ruler, but the palace grounds are now used to house the elephants belonging to the Guruvayoor temple, and has been renamed Anakkotta (meaning "Elephant Fort").

This facility is also used to train the elephants to serve Lord Krishna as well as to participate in many festivals that occur throughout the year. The oldest elephant is around 82 years of age and is called 'Ramachandran'. The rituals of Gajapooja (Worshipping Elephants) and Anayoottu (Feeding Elephants) are observed here, as an offering to Lord Ganesha. The legendary elephant "Guruvayur Keshavan" was housed here.

The compound also has a naalu kettu, a traditional rectangular home with a central courtyard, which belonged to the Punnathur Raja. It is poorly maintained and presently houses a training school for Papans (Mahout).

The visiting hours 9.30 am to 5.30 pm

Fee Rs. 10 for adults and Rs. 25 extra for photography

How to readh Punnathur Kotta

Nearest Airport:- Kochi International Airport (109 KM)

Nearest Railways station : Thrissur Railway Station (32 KM), Guruvayur Railway station (8KM)

Direction by road from nearby cities : well- connected by buses from Thrissur, Ernakulam, Kozhikode etc. 

^Reference

^{http://www.folomojo.com/its-rejuvenation-time-for-guruvayoor-temples-elephants-and-artistes/http://www.guruvayurdevaswom.nic.in/elephants.html}