Elephant Pongal celebrated at Theppakadu camp

Special 'Elephant Pongal' celebration at Theppakadu elephant camp in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve with jaggery feast for elephants.

Visitors to the Theppakadu elephant camp in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) were treated to the sight of a special ‘Elephant Pongal” that was celebrated on Wednesday.

The celebration involved Forest Department officials and members from the tribal communities living near the camp. The ‘Elephant Pongal’ is celebrated every year on January 15.

The elephants at the camp, including the calves, were fed a special feast of jaggery, sugarcane and fruits on the occasion. The celebrations began with a special puja even as tourists thronged the camp to witness the event.

The Pongal holidays had resulted in a significant increase in the number of visitors to the camp over the last few days, officials said. The event was attended by field director of MTR, R. Kiruba Shankar, divisional forest officer (Nilgiris) S. Gowtham, Nilgiris district superintendent of police N.S. Nisha, and Deputy Director of MTR, C. Vidhya.

On Tuesday, District Collector Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru took part in the Pongal celebrations organised by the State Tourism Department at the Government Botanical Garden in Udhagamandalam.

Foreign as well as domestic tourists visiting the garden took part in the celebrations. They were invited to take part in the competitions that were organised at the garden. Cultural events were also held to mark the occasion.