Anayoottu and Sukha Chikitsa for Elephants

During Karkkidakam temples in Kerala will witness Anayoottu. Marking the beginning of the treatment season for elephants, a mass feast for elephants will be held at the Vadakkumnathan Temple at Thrissur on Karkkidakam 1, attracting elephant lovers from far and wide. Freshly bathed jumbos with sandal-paste and vermilion on their foreheads will line up at the southern tower of the temple, to be fed with balls of rice mixed with ghee and turmeric, fruits, cucumber, dried coconut, sugarcane and jaggery. The occasion called `anayoottu' also offers the jumbo fans a chance to give a lump of candy or jaggery to the majestic animal. Similar feasts will be organised in other temples also. Karikkdakam is the month in which elephants of Kerala (especially of the Guruvayoor Sri Krishna temple) have a 30-day time-off for ayurvedic revitalisation treatment of body wraps, special diets and herbal tonics. Known in local parlance as `sukha chikitsa', the treatment helps elephants regain their sanguine, vitality and get-up. The 30-day course will be followed by nearly a month's `total rest'