Colourful elephant procession marks temple festival in Kerala

A procession by thirteen caparisoned elephants and cultural festivities in Ernakulathappan temple enthralled devotees in Kochi on Thursday.

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Thousands of devotees gathered to have a look at jumbos lined up at the ground adjacent to the Shiva temple which is also known as Ernakulathappan Temple.

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The temple has week-long festivities which start with Kodiyettam (hoisting of the temple flag) on the first day and on the seventh day there is Pakalpooram, when the deity is being taken out in procession with caparisoned elephants.

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"This is the seventh day of the function and tomorrow is the last day of the function. Today is called the Pakalpooram. We have a row of 13 elephants arranged with all decorative ornaments on them," said a devotee, Anand.

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The function saw dancers dressed as various Hindu gods performing on the beats of 'Chenda' (cylindrical percussion instrument).

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The temple festival is normally celebrated during the month of January every year.

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The event is dubbed as the grandest of all temple festivities in the coastal city of Kochi.

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The tallest jumbos from the Kerala state were arranged for the function.

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"We have taken all precautionary measures to keep people away from the elephants and we have got all certificates," said convener of the temple programme committee, A.R. Krishnan.

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Hundreds of captive elephants are booked in advance by organisers ahead of the temple festival.