An elephant which has been serving the Sree Padmanabhaswami temple here for the last 32 years has been conferred Gajarani title. It is only the second time a cow elephant in the state has been given the honour.
The 45-year-old Darsini led 15 other elephants for a befitting “coronation” at the temple on Thursday evening by none other than Uthradom Tirunal Marthanda Varma, head of the Travancore royalty. Varma draped the elephant with ponnada (gold laced shawl) and swarna pathakam (gold medal).
Darsini is a queen by all respects. She was one among three wild elephants which were trapped in a pit in 1966. Incidentally, that was the year when Indira Gandhi came to power and the elephants earned the names Indira, Priya and Darsini. Being the smartest of the three, Maharaja Chithira Tirunal, the last king of Travancore, bought Darsini and donated her to the temple. When Mrs Gandhi visited the city in the seventies she took special interest to meet the elephant named after her.
“She is very loving and obedient. In fact it is her grace and pleasantness that has fetched her the title. No cow elephant relishes tying the saddle and drums on its back. But Darsini does not complain,’’ said Gopalakrishnan, her proud mahout.
Darsini is the second to adorn the rani title after Lakshmikutty, the tallest she-elephant of the state, which was crowned queen in 1983 in Guruvayur.