Thirukadaiyur, a sleepy place, some 350 km from Chennai on way to Trinquebar, the seat of Danish East India Company in the Nagapatinam district has its own significant place in the history of Tamil Nadu.
The lone elephant at the Abirami temple epitomises the plight of all those temple elephants held in captivity in various parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. This sentient and social animal remains chained surrounded by urban noise and human crowds. Standing alone on the hard stone flooring of the temple, it was visibly suffering from heat exhaustion.
Barbara Gerard, founder and director of Art and Conservation of the Asian Elephant talks at length about the protection and conservation of the temple elephants. Supporting the ban on the practice of elephants ‘blessing’ pilgrims in temples, she says it may reduce stress on the jumbos.
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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba@yahoo.com
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