A sanctuary for gentle giants

Punnathur Kotta houses one of the largest elephant sanctuaries for captive elephants in the world, writes Shyamala Mani Iyer

On a trip to Guruvayur, Punnathur Kotta, which is just three kilometres from the temple, got the youngest member in our group, my eight-year-old granddaughter most excited. Punnathur Kotta houses one of the largest elephant sanctuaries for captive elephants in the world. Elephants here are allowed to roam in their natural surroundings.

The route from the temple to the kotta takes one through the town of Guruvayur which one would normally miss out on if only visiting the temple. The town is a quaint mix of the old and the modern. Like most Kerala towns, the houses on one side are all uphill and on the other a steep downhill. Some of them are in the old traditional style, set in huge, tree-filled compounds with lichen-stained compound walls in stone, while others are jazzy in style.

Punnathur Kotta was once the palace of the royal family of Punnathur which was acquired by the temple authorities in 1975. Spread across over 11 acres of coconut groves, it has since then provided a sanctuary to around 60 elephants. Most of the elephants here are those that have been gifted to the Guruvayur temple by devotees.

The anakotai (elephant fort) as it is now called, has been home to some of the legendary elephants of Guruvayur temple like Guruvayur Kesavan and Guruvayur Padmanabhan. The kotta also has facilities to train elephants to participate in festivals throughout the year. The compound also has a nallukettu — a traditional rectangular home with a central courtyard, which belonged to the Punnathur raja and is now used to train mahouts. The lush, verdant surroundings and the expectation of seeing the giants so close certainly attracted tourists in droves.

As one enters the compound to the sanctuary, the serenity and peace of the place strike you at first. The tall coconut palms and the shady paths make for an excellent afternoon with family. One could see the children enjoying their interactions with the elephants at such close quarters without walls or cages. On a lucky day, one can also see the giants being bathed. The elephants also seemed to be used to the sight of humans and some even seemed to enjoy the interaction. The sight of people clicking away didn’t seem to bother them one bit.

Aptly located in the land of elephants, the Punnathur Kotta facility is unique, where captive elephants can rest, recuperate and relax.

A peaceful place for the gentle giants, truly. After an afternoon walking through the calm, shady paths of the facility watching the pachyderms doing nothing more active than waving their ears to drive away the flies or moving their feet to some beat in their heads, one almost wished that one had a similar place to hibernate away from the busy, noisy everyday life.