Thirunakkara Sivan, one of the most popular and considered one of the most physically perfect tuskers in captivity, turned 50 on Sunday and his fans held a birthday bash fit for a King.
Not only was he ‘honoured’ by other elephants from the stables of Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), but also was bestowed with a new honorific ‘Pundarika Shurpakarna Elayaraja Gajaprajapathi’.
Sivan is the temple tusker at Thirunakkara Sreemahadevar Temple.
Present on the occasion was Minister for Devaswoms Kadakampally Surendran, former Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, MLA, and TDB president Prayar Gopalakrishnan and host of others. Tusker Sivan was presented with a ponnada and was feted with sweets and rice. To put the records straight, October 16 is not the day he was born, but the day he was brought to the temple from Kodanadu Elephant training camp in 1990.
At that time the 24-year-old tusker was addressed by a more mundane name: Thankappan. After being brought to the temple, he was bestowed with a new name, reflecting the blessing of the deity of the temple.
