The people of Kerala especially the elephant lovers have been mourning the death of an elephant by the name of Thiruvambadi Sivasundar, ever since he breathed his last at 3 a.m on 11 March. Thiruvambadi Sivasundar was no ordinary elephant, no wonder then that hundreds of people came out of their homes to pay homage to him. People were seen howling as if they had lost their own beloved ones, a member of their family!
So what was so special about Thiruvambadi Sivasundar?
The almost 47-year-old Thiruvambadi Sivasundar was a very important part of the Thrissur Pooram, an annual Hindu temple festival held at the Vadakkunnathan Temple in Thrissur, Kerala, every year on the Pooram day (the day when the moon rises with the Pooram star in the Malayalam Calendar month of Medam). Thiruvambadi Sivasundar used to also carry idols for other festivals like Nenmara-Vallangi Vela, Uthralikavu Pooram, and Arattupuzha Pooram etc.
Image Credit: facebook.com
How did Thiruvambadi Sivasundar come to the temple?
Thiruvambadi Sivasundar, fondly called by his fans as King of Beauty (Azhakinte Thampuran) was born in the forests of Vellikulangara, where catching elephants by digging holes to trap them was a common practice. But in Thiruvambadi Sivasundar’s case, it was the other way round, his mother was found fallen in the pit while a baby Thiruvambadi Sivasundar was found near the pit crying for the mother.
The calf, was only a year old then, when he was separated from his mother and taken away by officials to the Kodanadu elephant training center, while his mother was sent back to the forest. From there, he was handed over to a timber merchant named Pookkodan Francis who then sold him to a businessman named Sunder Menon, who in turn gifted the elephant to the Thiruvambadi Temple and that’s where he spent the rest of his life. Formerly called Pukkodan Sivan before it became Thiruvambadi Sivasundar, he had been carrying the thidambu at the Thrissur Pooram for the past 14 years, which is usually an honor given to the most majestic looking elephants. He was paid a fee of almost 3 lakh rupees for every appearance he made.Like most celebrities, he too had his own fan club!
Image Credit: newindianexpress.com
Sadly Thiruvambadi Sivasundar died due to a digestive disorder and had been suffering since the last two months. Thiruvambadi Sivasundar was honored with the Gaja Kesari Title in 2007 and the Mathanga Kesari title in 2008. He received a grand farewell where not only thousands of elephant lovers but even Ministers came to pay their respects and bid him farewell.
Thiruvambadi Sivasundar was cremated at Kodanad.
Read Also: Where Have All The Sparrows Gone?
