Tamil Nadu's adored elephant Akila turns 23
What's the story
Akila, the revered temple elephant of the Thiruvanaikoil Jambukeswarar Akilandeswari Temple in Trichy, celebrated her 23rd birthday on Saturday.
The celebration was marked by traditional rituals and festive cheer, drawing large crowds of devotees.
Akila was born in 2002 and brought to the temple in 2011 during former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's tenure to assist with temple rituals and ceremonies.
Festive rituals
Akila's birthday celebration at Thiruvanaikoil Jambukeswarar Temple
The temple authorities organized a special celebration in the temple garden for Akila's birthday. She was ceremoniously decorated and brought in for the festivities.
Priests performed special poojas for her, and mahouts, temple staff, priests, and a large number of devotees attended the event.
Devotees sang birthday wishes to Akhila and offered her a feast of fruits, vegetables, jaggery sweets, and traditional delicacies like kozhukattai.
Cultural celebrations
Vibrant fishing festival and jallikattu event in Tamil Nadu
Earlier in the day, people from different adjoining villages gathered at Kallandhiri village near Melur to celebrate a centuries-old fishing festival.
The festival involves offering fish caught by villagers to deities for better harvests and health.
Meanwhile, Sri Pidari Amman Temple's annual festival in Thiruvarankulam near Pudukkottai featured a spectacular Jallikattu event on Friday.
The event drew massive crowds with 750 bulls and 300 tamers participating from various districts across Tamil Nadu.
Cultural heritage
Jallikattu: A traditional bull-taming sport of Tamil Nadu
Jallikattu is an ancient sport played during the harvest festival Pongal in Tamil Nadu.
In this event, a bull is released into a crowd and human participants try to grab the large hump on its back to tame it.
Earlier this year, Madurai hosted a three-day Jallikattu event with 1,100 bulls and 900 bull-tamers participating.
The best bull was awarded a tractor worth ₹11 lakh while the best bull-tamer received a car worth ₹8 lakh among other prizes.