Unique elephant festival held in Kerala

NEW DELHI: ‘Gajamela’, a unique elephant festival was organised for the first time in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, as part of the National Live Stock Show. The event witnessed a huge gathering of foreign tourists as well as the local people on Sunday. The ‘Gajamela’ began with the feeding of different varieties of fruits and rice balls to all the elephants. An elephant pageant was also conducted during the festival in which about 15 elephants participated. The international tourists said that the show was an exceptional experience for them. “It was very exciting because in Germany you see them only at the zoo and from far away. So it was very special for me to touch and feed an elephant,” said Rekina Tessmar, a German tourist. “I have seen elephants only in zoo and circus but it’s the first time that I see them in such a procession,” said Jacques Aodres, a tourist from Switzerland. An elephant named ‘Guruji Anandapadmanabhan’ won the pageant at ‘Gajamela’ and was selected the tallest among the participating elephants.