Kerala Thrissur Pooram in a tangle over use of elephants
Peta moves court seeking a stay on the parade of elephants at temple festival
An elephantine problem has visited this year’s Thrissur Pooram, the biggest temple festival in Kerala, with Hollywood actress Pamela Anderson batting for the cause of elephants, demanding that they be kept off the festivities.
The demand, made through a letter to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, strikes at the heart of the iconic temple festival, scheduled for today, in which the most memorable celebrations every year is the impressive line-up of caparisoned elephants, and the exchange of ornamental peacock-feathered fans by mahouts perched on the elephants.
Anderson is known to be a patron of the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), and her request comes as the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has reminded state government officials to leave elephants out of the upcoming Pooram parade since the animals are not registered with the AWBI.
In addition to Anderson’s letter, Peta has also moved the Kerala High Court, seeking to direct the Pooram organisers not to parade the elephants at the festival this year.
Backing up her commitment to the elephants, Anderson has offered to contribute the cost of providing 30 life-sized elephants made of bamboo and papier-mache to substitute the live elephants, which has been tried out twice before in Tamil Nadu. However, the Kerala government is not expected to immediately agree to the Hollywood star’s request.
Concerns over fireworks
State Forest Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said the government “will not interfere with long-standing cultural traditions”, and that animal rights activists could bring it to the government’s notice if there was any incidence of torture of animals.
The debate over using live elephants is not the only issue troubling the Pooram organisers. There are rising concerns over the sound of fireworks at the festival.
Pooram fans who throng the Swaraj Round in Thrissur for the festival cannot imagine a fest without the fireworks, but many others disagree in the context of increasing awareness about the chemicals used in making them and the sound pollution they cause.