Elephant Pongal infuses ATR's Kozhikamuthy elephant camp with a joyous atmosphere
Along with the camp elephants, Forest Department employees and members of tribal communities living in the Kozhikamuthy elephant camp of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) celebrated Pongal on Tuesday.
More than eight hundred individuals who came to the camp at Top Slip on Mattu Pongal were also thrilled by the Yaanai Pongal celebrations.
The festivities, which were led by ATR Field Director S. Ramasubramanian, commenced with the washing of twenty-six elephants in the creek that runs through the camp.
The elephants received garlands from their mahouts and cavadis, or attendants, after their wash. The elephants were given a puja, after which pongal was made. The elephants knelt down before Lord Vinayaga’s idol.
The elephants received pongal from the camp personnel, which was led by M. Sundaravel, the forest range officer of the Ulandy range, and Bhargava Teja, the deputy director of the ATR division in Pollachi.
The elephants were fed a variety of fruits in addition to their usual morning camp fare, which consists of boiled finger millet flour (kali), boiled rice, salt, jaggery, coconut, and chunks of sugar cane. Fruits included apple, pomegranate, banana, papaya, and pineapple. As part of the festivities, the staff also provided food to the guests.
