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Markazhi

Punnathur kotta or Anakkotta of Guruvayur

Punnathur Kotta or Anakkottaa

Punnathur Kotta or Anakkottaa


As you enter the gate of Punnathur Kotta  a strange organic smell of elephant dung wakes you up. You will remain wonder stuck as you see a lot of uncaparisoned elephants within   the limited area.The grey coloured bulky bodies sway,some pick food stuff with its trunks end , some wallowing in mud, some others dust with dirt,others flap their wings , some stretch their body, some others lift the bunch of palm leaf, some grumble and some rumble

post training session!

post training session!


still some others nod their head frequently.Mahouts take some of them to pond ..They rub closely their wrinkled grey skin ,the funny thing was that one bulky elephant took water from a tap and quenched the thirst.Elephant shelter hosts around 64 elephants which includes 54 tuskers.Most of them are offered by celebrities.

dust bath first then mud bath

dust bath first then real bath !


Punnathur Kotta was earlirly owned by Punnathur Swaroopam .a local Royal clan closely related to Cochin dynasty  and the Zamorins.The palace with nearly twenty acres of land was handed over to Guruvayur devaswom in 1975.The historic palace was thus transformed into an elephant shelter or Anakkotta,exclusively meant for the tuskers owned by lord Guruvayurappan.

Punnathur kotta or Anakkotta

Punnathur kotta or Anakkotta


We are familiar with the term wild life sancturies that proudly highlight the flagship species as  elephants.But elephant shelter at Punnathur kotta or Anakkotta is perhaps the only one in this world’.Kotta turns to be a centre of hectic activity by eight in the morning.three mahouts are assigned to take care of charges of one elephant.

bath session

bath session


At first the mahouts wash and sweep the concrete platforms where the elephant rests.The tuskers are lead to various various ponds situated in the compound to have a detailed bath which  takes  more than one hour.we feel that the elephants are really funny creatures.

feeding !

feeding !


Elephants are fed  with special food containing boiled rice mixed with special medicines.their food package is later enriched with palm leaves. Later mahouts supply them palm leaves.

palm leaf favy!

palm leaf favy!


The elephants are fed with 17000 kg of palm leaves 3500 kg of rice  per day.some  bulky naughties play pranks with materials available at the trunk’s reach.!elephants turn creative when they take baths in open air.they splash water all  over the body and sprays water indiscriminately .how funny it is to look at!

shower bath!

shower bath!


There are around 3000 festivals held in Kerala  involving the parading of elephants.In most of the festivals at least  three elephants are paraded.Elephants  are  brought to different temples in the nearby  temples and paraded.

stretching !

stretching !


As we know elephants have a bulky body,large ears along trunk and the most prominent tusks.They have patches of brown hair on the top of head and back.

naughty guy!

naughty guy!


There are four sub species of Asian elephants,Borneo elephant,Sumatra elephant,the Indian elephant,and the Srilankan elephant.As per the text Mathanka leela,The features of a perfect elephant is listed.

I like to have tap water!

I like to have tap water!


This include Broadened shoulders,honey coloured eyes,fleshy trunk crawling on the earth,symmetric tusks,a total of twenty nails on four  legs,proportional height and prestigious look etc .The legendary elephant Guruvayur  Kesavan had these ideal characteristics.

The cage and the calf !

The cage and the calf !


The prestigious member of elephant community in Punnathur kotta is Guruvayur Padmanabhan.Youngest member is  eight year old Lakshmi Narayanan.Punnathur kotta is three km away from guruvayur.

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