Tamil Nadu - Salem   

A withering majesty

R. Ilangovan

PATHETIC: Rajeshwari, the Sukavaneshwarar Temple elephant. - Photo: P. Goutham

SALEM: She was a majestic sight to one and all not long ago.

Her breezy gait and paced stroll on the premises of the ancient Sri Sukavaneshwarar Temple and on the city roads was the cynosure of all eyes.

She was a princess on walk. But the condition of Rajeshwari today, the temple's 30-year-old she-elephant, is heartwrenching.

She looks emaciated and weak.

She prefers to lie down always in her badly-kept `elephant shed' inside the temple rather than to venture out.

She could not even raise her legs and trunk.

Her condition prompted a few animal lovers and devotees to inform the district administration, which in turn sent a team of officials from the department of forest to see the elephant.

The team led by Assistant Conservator of Forests K. Selvarajspent nearly three hours to inspect the area where the elephant Rajeshwari is kept.

Later they asked the temple administration to keep the shed neat and clean.

Mr. Selvaraj told The Hindu that the elephant was weak and needed good and staple diet.

"She has been kept in a dark and dingy shed where cleanliness is nil.

Though she is not suffering from any major ailment as certified by the veterinary doctors, she has to be housed in a clean environ and must be properly fed," the Assistant Conservator of Forests said.

Thus physically challenged Rajeshwari (she has had a sort of polio attack in her left fore leg) needs not only nutritious diet but a clean and warm shelter too.

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