Hundreds of elephant lovers on Monday witnessed the anayottam (elephant race) that marked the beginning of the annual festival of the Guruvayur Sreekrishna Temple here.
The hartal did not dampen the spirit of the race as huge crowds thronged the venue.
Barricades were erected on both sides of the road to control the crowd. The elephant Kesavankutty of Guruvayur Devaswom reached first in the race. Elephants Kesavankutty, Junior Vishnu and Nadhini entered the temple at the end of the race as part of the ritual. In all, 29 elephants participated in the race. The anayottam was taken out from Manjulal to Kalyanamandapam of the temple.
The Guruvayur Devaswom had made elaborate arrangements for the ceremony. A crisis management team was kept ready for handling emergencies.
Tense moments were witnessed when an elephant, Peethambaran, turned unruly and ran till Kottappady. It was brought under control after some time.
A seeveli without elephants was held in the morning. The ritual is reminiscent of the temple’s past when there were no elephants at the temple.
Now, the Guruvayur Devaswom has 57 elephants.
