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Death of an Elephant.
“TEARS FLOW AT CHANDRASHEKARAN’S FUNERAL” …
screamed the headlines.
“Even in death, Chandrashekaran seemed to
maintain the same dignity and poise with which
he had lived his life.” Reading the newspaper,
it was easy to see that Chandrashekaran had been
a beloved and highly respected member of the
community at Thrissur. The photographs showed
the townspeople mourning him, some of them
weeping. Mourners had laid wreaths of flowers
near his silk-covered body. Chandrashekaran was
a 52 year old elephant.
Mourners lay wreaths and flowers as they pay
their last respects to Chandrashekaran.
In a land where elephants are treated and loved
as children, where their horoscopes are
carefully charted, it doesn’t come as much of a
surprise that an elephant’s death should merit
so much attention. Especially when the elephant
is one as esteemed and cherished as
Chandrashekaran. The town of Thrissur has never
seen an elephant that was as regal, as dignified
or as loving as Chandrashekaran.
Chandrashekaran’s life in the world of men began
when he was brought to the household of the
Maharaja of Travancore when he was 4 years old.
Only the best elephants which satisfy stringent
criteria regarding physical attributes, health
and behavior can serve the Maharaja. Here
Chandrashekaran was trained and lovingly brought
up. A few years later he was sold to another
household. Here, his mahout trained him to work
in the timber yards. The bond between
Chandrashekaran and his mahout Kuttappan Nair,
was a very special one. Even after the elephant
was sold to a family in Thrissur, Kuttappan Nair
would visit him at least once a year.
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Chandrashekaran arrived in Thrissur in 1973.
Here, his impeccable training and calm spirit
made him a favorite among the elephants. In all
his life, he ran amuck only once. In fact, his
behavior was so good that he needed only one
mahout where other elephants usually had 3. An
extremely intelligent creature, he could
understand commands by the touch of his mahout’s
leg behind his ear.
Chandrashekaran was a devoted servant of the
Goddess of the Thiruvambadi Temple. Since 1974
till 2001, he was the chief elephant in all but
one of the Thrissur Pooram festivals. As an
elephant, he was one of a kind. Once the
kolam of the goddess was hoisted onto his
head, he wouldn’t allow anyone to pass in front
of the goddess. Such effrontery was never
tolerated. First, he would gently push the
person away with his trunk. If the offender
still persisted in his impudent behaviour,
Chandrashekaran would knock him down.
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The Kolam of the Goddess is hoisted onto
Chandrashekaran during the Pooram festival
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For the last 15 years of his life,
Chandrashekaran had to be fed on rice gruel and
water as his weakened teeth could not chew
leaves and grass. When his health weakened, many
people from out of the state and even from
abroad offered to help. But like all mortal
things, the end had to come some day.
Chandrashekaran breathed his last on the 14th
of May, 2002.
May his soul (Yes, elephants have souls!) rest
in peace.
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